1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1996 United States gubernatorial elections.

1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

November 5, 1996

Nominee Cecil Underwood Charlotte Pritt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 324,518 287,870 Percentage 51.6% 45.8%

County results Underwood:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Pritt:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Gaston Caperton Democratic Elected Governor Cecil Underwood Republican

The 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996 to elect the Governor of West Virginia. Republican Cecil Underwood, who had previously been the Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, defeated Democratic State Senator Charlotte Pritt. Concurrently, the state voted the opposite way federally, choosing Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee, incumbent Bill Clinton over Republican nominee Bob Dole in the Presidential election that year.

Pritt was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. This was the last election in which a Republican was elected Governor of West Virginia until 2020. Former Republican Jim Justice was elected in the 2016 election as a Democrat and later switched back to the Republican Party seven months into his term, making him the first Republican governor since 2001 when Underwood left office. As of 2023, this is the last time that the winning Republican gubernatorial nominee was not an incumbent Governor of West Virginia.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Charlotte Pritt, former State Senator from Charleston and candidate for Governor in 1992
• Joe Manchin III, State Senator from Fairmont
• Jim Lees, attorney
• Larrie Bailey, former State Treasurer
• Bobbie Edward Myers
• Lyle Sattes
• Bob Henry Baber
• Louis J. Davis
• Frank Rochetti
• Richard E. Moon
• Fred Schell

West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlotte Pritt	130,107	39.54%
	Democratic	Joe Manchin	107,124	32.56%
	Democratic	Jim Lees	64,100	19.48%
	Democratic	Larrie Bailey	15,733	4.78%
	Democratic	Bobbie Edward Myers	3,038	0.92%
	Democratic	Lyle Sattes	2,931	0.89%
	Democratic	Bob Henry Baber	1,456	0.44%
	Democratic	Louis J. Davis	1,351	0.41%
	Democratic	Frank Rochetti	1,330	0.40%
	Democratic	Richard E. Koon	1,154	0.35%
	Democratic	Fred Schell	733	0.22%
Total votes			329,057	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Cecil Underwood, Former Governor and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960
• Jon McBride, Retired Astronaut, Navy Veteran, and Businessman
• David McKinley, Former State Delegate, and Former State Party Chair

West Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cecil Underwood	54,628	40.78%
	Republican	Jon McBride	44,255	33.03%
	Republican	David McKinley	35,089	26.19%
Total votes			133,972	100.00%

Results

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Cecil Underwood	324,518	51.63%	+15.07%
	Democratic	Charlotte Pritt	287,870	45.80%	-10.21%
	Libertarian	Wallace Johnson	16,171	2.57%	+2.57%
Margin of victory			36,648	5.83%	-13.62%
Total votes			628,559	100.00%	N/A
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing