Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) is projected to win the governor’s race in West Virginia.
The Associated Press called the race for Morrisey at 7:30 p.m. ET, right as polls closed and before vote totals began to roll in, as he staved off his opponent, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.
Morrisey will replace Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), who is now the senator-elect from the Mountain State after beating off Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliot (D) in his race, which marked the first Senate flip of the night for Republicans.
Morrisey, who received an early endorsement from former President Donald Trump back in the Republican primary, has served as West Virginia’s attorney general since 2013.
“Highly Respected Attorney General Patrick Morrisey ran against two very talented and popular opponents for Governor of West Virginia, a State I love and won by large margins in 2016 and 2020,” Trump wrote at the time, per Metro News.
“Now is the time for all Republicans to unite behind Patrick Morrisey to ensure he has a tremendous Victory in November! Patrick will work closely with me to enact America First Policies, and is a FANTASTIC person to replace my friend and future U.S. Senator, Jim Justice,” he added.
Morrisey’s priorities in office include defeating federal overreach and eliminating the state income tax.
Morrisey told Breitbart News of his plan at the Republican National Convention in an exclusive interview.
“I’d like to get rid of the income tax, it’s really important to compete better and be the only income tax free state in the region. We do that, we have school choice that’s dramatically expanded, we do that and keep our conservative values,” he said.
He also emphasized that he wanted to compete harder with nearby states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
West Virginia is the site of one of eleven gubernatorial races on Tuesday.