Northern Panhandle Now Red All Over: Registered Republicans Outnumber Democrats in All 6 Counties
Joselyn King Trending
WHEELING -- All six Northern Panhandle counties now boast more registered Republican voters than registered Democrats, following a trend happening across West Virginia.
But it's not necessarily that Democrats are switching their politics to Republican, report county clerks. They say more and more Independent non-party voters are opting to register Republican.
As of July 31, Republicans outnumber Democrats in 42 of West Virginia's 55 counties, according to data compiled by the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office.
The situation has reversed from just eight years ago in July 2016, when Democrats were listed as having the edge in 42 counties.
Brooke and Wetzel counties had been the last two Democratic holdouts in the Northern Panhandle until just before the May 5 primary election this year. Voter registrations in March and April flipped the majorities in both counties by a narrow margin.
Brooke County currently is listed as having 5,443 Republicans, 5,357 Democrats and 3,303 registered with no party affiliation.
In Wetzel County, Republicans now outnumber Democrats 3,748 to 3,608, and there are 1,817 non-party voters, according to July 31 numbers.
Registrations have been trending Republican for quite some time, both locally and across the state, according to Brooke County Clerk Kimberly Barbetta. But what has changed in Brooke County is that a larger number of prior Independents without party affiliation have changed their registration to Republican, she explained.
"West Virginia has been more of a red state than a blue state," Barbetta said. "But what happened here is that the Republicans voted earlier this year to close their primary election (beginning in 2026)."
Independents have been able to request a Republican ballot in recent primary elections, but that is no longer going to be allowed.
"They (Republicans) said if you are an Independent, you are not a true Republican and you don't get to vote their ballot. There were Independent voters who wanted to make sure they could still vote (the Republican ballot)," Barbetta continued.
Wetzel County Clerk Jessica Davis indicated it was the same situation in that county.
"Based on what I've seen, the trend was to be an Independent with non-party affiliation," she explained. "Right before the primary is when they made the switch. They came in, said they were ready for changes and went to the other side.
"We had a good bit 'in the middle,' but we're seeing more and more going over to the Republican side."
- Hancock County reports having 8,028 Republicans registered, and 6,253 Democrats. There are 4,404 there not affiliated with a party.
- Marshall County numbers show 8,329 Republicans and 6,134 Democrats. Non-party affiliations total 4,995.
- Ohio County lists 10,545 Republicans, 9,043 Democrats and 6,109 with no party affiliation.'
- Tyler County has 3,087 Republicans and 1,059 Democrats, with 1,307 having no party affiliation.
West Virginia's largest county, Kanawha County, continues to be nearly split down the middle in terms of voter registration. The county reports 42,348 Democrats and 42,261 Democrats. Non-party affiliations there total 30,599.
In Monongalia County, there are 22,759 Democrats registered, as well as 21,031 Republicans. Non-party voter registered are listed at 17,866.