Social Web
E-mail

West Virginia Primary Facts and Figures

By Jennifer O'Shea

Posted May 9, 2008

The West Virginia primary is May 13, 2008.

Presidential Primary Winners

Democrats

1988: Michael Dukakis
1992: Bill Clinton
1996: Bill Clinton
2000: Al Gore
2004: John Kerry

Republicans

1988: George H.W. Bush
1992: George H.W. Bush
1996: Bob Dole
2000: George W. Bush
2004: George W. Bush

Sources: Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections; West Virginia Secretary of State's Office

Voter Registration Data

(as of April 25, 2008)
Registered voters: 1,183,495
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State's Office

General Election Winners—1988-2004

1988: Michael Dukakis
1992: Bill Clinton
1996: Bill Clinton
2000: George W. Bush
2004: George W. Bush

Sources: Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections; West Virginia Secretary of State's Office

Exit Poll Demographics

2004 General Election

Sex

Male: 47%
Female: 53%

Race

White: 95%
African-American:3%
Latino: 0%
Asian: 1%

Age

18-29: 16%
30-44: 26%
45-59: 31%
60 and older: 26%

White Evangelical/ Born Again

Yes: 48%
No: 52%

Source: CNN

3 Things You Didn't Know A bout West Virginia Primaries

1. In 1960, John F. Kennedy's victory over Hubert Humphrey in the West Virginia primary proved pivotal to his campaign. Kennedy was far behind in the polls only weeks before the vote, with feedback showing that many West Virginia voters were nervous about his Catholic faith. In the weeks ahead of the election, Kennedy campaigned heavily throughout the state, famously saying, "I refuse to believe that I was denied the right to be president on the day I was baptized." Kennedy was successful in bringing West Virginians to his side— he won the primary decisively, earning 60.8 percent of the vote to Humphrey's 39.2 percent.

2. For this election cycle, West Virginia Republicans made a change to their primary system in an effort to drum up interest in their state's contest— a late-in-the-season contest which is often ignored. Party officials decided to hold a nominating convention in February that would award a portion of the state's delegates. Eighteen of the state's 30 delegates were decided on that Super Tuesday contest (won by Mike Huckabee), with the remainder to be allocated on May 13th. Democrats allocate all of their delegates May 13th.

3. Another first this year: West Virginia is holding an open primary, meaning that independents and unaffiliated voters may vote in either party's primary—but they will need to request the appropriate ballot at the polling place.

Sources: Associated Press, Buffalo News, Charleston Gazette, Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, State Journal