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Tag: WV State Wire

  • AP Decision Notes: What to expect in West Virginia on Election Day

    AP Decision Notes: What to expect in West Virginia on Election Day

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump will compete for West Virginia’s four electoral votes in the Nov. 5 general election. Voters will also cast ballots for a full slate of federal and state contests, including a U.S. Senate race that will help decide control of the chamber next year.

    Neither Harris nor Trump have campaigned in West Virginia, and the state has not been a competitive presidential battleground for years. West Virginia was reliable Democratic territory for most of the 20th century, but Republican presidential candidates have won the state by comfortable margins since George W. Bush’s victory there in 2000.

    Also appearing on the presidential ballot this year are three independent or third-party candidates, including Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump.

    In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Gov. Jim Justice is running against Democrat Glenn Elliott and Libertarian David Moran to succeed Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin, who is not seeking a third full term. Manchin’s retirement has complicated Democratic hopes of maintaining control of the chamber next year. A win by Justice would be enough to give the GOP a majority if Trump wins the White House, assuming they hold their other seats.

    Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is running against Democrat Steve Williams and three third-party candidates to replace Justice as governor. Voters also will decide two U.S. House races, including the 2nd Congressional District seat Republican incumbent Alex Mooney gave up to run in the U.S. Senate primary against Justice.

    Other races on the ballot include state Senate, state House, attorney general and other state offices, as well as a ballot measure that would prohibit medically assisted suicide.

    In recent years, West Virginia has increasingly chosen Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate and House and for statewide offices. Before switching party affiliations, Manchin was one of the last remaining Democrats representing the state.

    The Associated Press doesn’t make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race hasn’t been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, like candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear it hasn’t declared a winner and explain why.

    Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 election in West Virginia:

    Election Day

    Nov. 5.

    Poll closing time

    7:30 p.m. ET.

    Presidential electoral votes

    4 awarded to statewide winner.

    Key races and candidates

    President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Jill Stein (Mountain Party) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (independent).

    U.S. Senate: Elliott (D) vs. Justice (R) and one other.

    Governor: Williams (R) vs. Morrisey (R) and three others.

    Ballot measure: Constitutional Amendment 1 (prohibit medically assisted suicide).

    Other races of interest

    U.S. House, state Senate, state House, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer.

    Past presidential results

    2020: Trump (R) 69%, Biden (D) 30%, AP race call: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, 7:30 p.m. ET.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    Voter registration and turnout

    Registered voters: 1,201,724 (as of Sept. 30, 2024). About 29% Democrats, 41% Republicans and 25% no party.

    Voter turnout in 2020 presidential election: 63% of registered voters.

    Pre-Election Day voting

    Votes cast before Election Day 2020: about 50% of the total vote.

    Votes cast before Election Day 2022: about 29% of the total vote.

    Votes cast before Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote tracker.

    How long does vote-counting take?

    First votes reported, Nov. 3, 2020: 7:57 p.m. ET.

    By midnight ET: about 96% of total votes cast were reported.

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    Associated Press writer Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.

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    Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • West Virginia lawmakers OK bills on income tax cut and child care tax credit

    West Virginia lawmakers OK bills on income tax cut and child care tax credit

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    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Bills aimed to reduce West Virginians’ income tax burden are headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice.

    One would reduce the state personal income tax by 2%. Another would provide a tax credit to help families pay for child care. The Republican governor is expected to sign both proposals, after they passed final legislative hurdles Tuesday during a special legislative session called by Justice.

    Cuts to the state personal income tax have been a priority for Justice, who is nearing the end of his second term as governor and running for the U.S. Senate. He signed a 21.25% tax cut into effect last year, and the tax is scheduled to drop by another 4% in the new year, per a trigger in the 2023 law that allows for further tax cuts if the state meets higher-than-anticipated revenue collections.

    Justice had initially been pushing the Legislature to consider cutting the tax a further 5% but amended that proposal to a more conservative 2% cut Monday.

    A 2% cut in personal income tax rates would take effect on the first day of the new year and return approximately $46 million to taxpayers. Del. Vernon Criss, the House Finance Committee chair, said he would have preferred a 5% tax cut, but an agreement couldn’t be made with the Senate to support that.

    “I still think we are moving in the right direction,” he said. “That’s what we all want.”

    The money to pay for the tax cut is coming from an expiring revenue bond and $27 million in savings the Justice administration said came from dissolving the former Department of Health and Human Resources into three new state agencies earlier this year.

    Several Democrats spoke against the proposal, expressing concern that the Justice administration had not provided details about where the savings were coming from and how the cut could effect state programs. West Virginia has the highest per capita rate of children in foster care in the nation.

    Democrat Del. Kayla Young said she’s never voted against a tax cut proposal during her time in the legislature, but the source of funding for this cut concerned her.

    “I don’t feel comfortable not knowing where this money is coming from,” she said.

    House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle said the tax cut won’t make a meaningful impact on most working-class West Virginians’ budgets — 40 cents a week, or just under $21 a year. He said the trigger system included in the 2023 income tax bill is a more responsible approach, and questioned why the governor was pushing a further tax cut “outside the scope of that in the 25th hour before the election.”

    “The policy of it is it’s taking money away from children,” he said. “And if we’re going to do a tax cut, I would submit to this body that we — all of us — do a little bit more work and make sure that money is not going to affect children.”

    Republican Del. Larry Kump of Berkeley County said he disagreed that a 2% cut wouldn’t be meaningful to families. He said he both grew up and lives in a working poor neighborhood, and has neighbors that have to make decisions between food and heat.

    “Even a little bit is meaningful. A gallon of milk helps with a family,” he said. “Anything we can do to reduce the tax burden on our taxpayers is a good thing.”

    A child and dependent tax credit passed by the state Legislature would allow people to receive a non-refundable credit of around $225 to apply to their taxes if they receive the federal child care tax credit, which is around $450 a year. Around 16,000 West Virginia families receive the federal child care tax credit.

    The credit is expected to return around $4.2 million to state taxpayers.

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  • Coal miner killed on the job in West Virginia. The death marks fourth in the state this year

    Coal miner killed on the job in West Virginia. The death marks fourth in the state this year

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    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A coal miner was killed on the job in West Virginia on Friday night, Gov. Jim Justice said.

    The Republican governor said Gary Chapman, 33, of South Williamson, Kentucky, died after being injured at the Mountaineer II Mine near Sharples, West Virginia.

    Justice expressed his condolences in a statement, saying Chapman and his family were in his prayers.

    “When we lose a miner, it’s not just a loss for the community, but a loss for the entire State of West Virginia,” Justice said in a statement. “Mr. Chapman’s loss is a powerful reminder that we should always have a deep gratitude for every one of our coal miners. They are the ones who keep our nation running.”

    At least eight U.S. coal miners have died on the job in 2024, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Four of them died in West Virginia.

    The incident is under investigation by the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

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  • Family of West Virginia governor, running for Senate, has deal to avoid Greenbrier hotel foreclosure

    Family of West Virginia governor, running for Senate, has deal to avoid Greenbrier hotel foreclosure

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    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has reached an agreement with a credit collection company to avoid the foreclosure of their historic hotel as he runs for U.S. Senate, the resort announced Thursday.

    The Republican governor’s family had been set to appear in court Friday to ask a judge to halt the auction of The Greenbrier resort’s hotel, which had been scheduled for Tuesday. That hearing has been canceled.

    “It’s taken care of, and we move forward, and The Greenbrier is as whole as it can possibly be,” Justice said at a news briefing. “The Greenbrier is going to be in our family forevermore.”

    The 710-room hotel has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty and congressional retreats. The resort held a PGA Tour golf tournament from 2010 until 2019 and has welcomed NFL teams for training camp and practices. A once-secret 112,000-square-foot (10,080-square-meter) underground bunker built for Congress at the Greenbrier in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War now hosts tours.

    The hotel came under threat of auction after JPMorgan Chase sold a longstanding loan taken out by the governor to a credit collection company, McCormick 101 — a subsidiary of Beltway Capital — which declared it to be in default. In a statement, the Justice family said it had reached an agreement with Beltway Capital to “receive a specific amount to be paid in full by October 24, 2024.”

    The family said it had already secured the money, although the Justices did not specify the amount.

    “Beltway reserves its rights if the Justice family fails to perform,” the statement reads.

    A message left with Beltway Capital wasn’t immediately returned Thursday.

    Justice defended his family’s business practices at Thursday’s briefing and repeated past claims that JPMorgan Chase’s sale of The Greenbrier loan was a politically motivated effort to hurt his U.S. Senate campaign.

    “We had a 14-year working relationship with JPMorgan, and then shortly after the primary where I was the winner — hands down, you’re going to the U.S. Senate, no matter what anybody says under the sun — it makes, it made, total no sense other than political, it made no sense at all,” he said.

    Justice said that his family had made payments on the JPMorgan loan as recently as June and that it was notified the loan had been sold in July without prior warning. JPMorgan Chase did not respond to an email seeking comment.

    If the hotel had been sold, Justice said, “there would have been carnage and devastation like you can’t imagine to the great people of The Greenbrier,” referring to jobs that could have been lost.

    The auction, which had been set to occur at a courthouse Tuesday in the small city of Lewisburg, involved 60.5 acres, including the hotel and parking lot.

    Justice family attorneys filed a motion this week for a preliminary injunction to try to halt the auction of The Greenbrier. They claimed that a 2014 deed of trust approved by the governor was defective because JPMorgan didn’t obtain consent from the Greenbrier Hotel Corp.’s directors or owners, and that auctioning the property violates the company’s obligation to act in “good faith and deal fairly” with the corporation.

    They also argued, in part, that the auction would harm the economy and threaten hundreds of jobs.

    About 400 employees at The Greenbrier hotel received notice this week from an attorney for the health care provider Amalgamated National Health Fund saying they would lose coverage Tuesday, the scheduled date of the auction, unless the Justice family paid $2.4 million in missing contributions.

    Peter Bostic, a union official with the Workers United Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board, said that the Justice family hasn’t contributed to employees’ health fund in four months, and that an additional $1.2 million in contributions will soon be due, according to the letter the board received from Ronald Richman, an attorney with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, the firm representing the fund.

    The letter also said some contributions were taken out of employees’ paychecks but never transferred to the fund, concerning union officials.

    Justice dismissed concerns about the claims Thursday, telling reporters that “insurance payments were made and were being made on a regular basis.”

    “There is no way that the great union employees at The Greenbrier are going to go without insurance,” he said. “There is no possible way.”

    Justice is running for U.S. Senate against Democrat Glenn Elliott, a former mayor of Wheeling. Justice, who owns dozens of companies and had a net worth estimated at $513 million by Forbes Magazine in 2021, has been accused in court cases of being late in paying millions for family business debts and fines for unsafe working conditions at his coal mines.

    He began serving the first of his two terms as governor in 2017, after buying The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009.

    Justice’s family also owns The Greenbrier Sporting Club, a private luxury community with a members-only “resort within a resort.” That property was scheduled to be auctioned off this year in an attempt by Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Virginia, to recover more than $300 million in business loans defaulted by the governor’s family, but a court battle delayed that process.

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  • Kenney Grant, founder of iconic West Virginia pizza chain Gino’s, dies

    Kenney Grant, founder of iconic West Virginia pizza chain Gino’s, dies

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    HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — William Kenneth “Kenney” Grant, the founder and owner of the iconic West Virginia chain Gino’s Pizza and Spaghetti House, has died. He was 94.

    Grant died Wednesday, according to an obituary posted by Beard Mortuary funeral home.

    A native of Huntington, Grant founded Gino’s in 1961. He gradually expanded the business, which currently has around 40 locations around West Virginia. Grant also owned several locations of another West Virginia staple, Tudor’s Biscuit World.

    Grant remained committed to supporting the Huntington community throughout his life, including the Marshall Artist Series, the arts and entertainment organization for Marshall University.

    “Kenney was a visionary, he was not one to be satisfied with being just another pizza place, he always wanted more for his hometown and tried to bring that to them,” the obituary said. “In his attempt to become a successful businessman, Kenney never failed to forget his roots.”

    He is survived by three children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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