ELKINS — Sen. Robert Karnes (R) has defeated Fmr. Del. Denise Campbell (D) in district 11’s state senatorial race. Karnes received 23,229 votes at 51 percent, while Campbell received 22,018 votes at 49 percent.
In an exclusive interview with Mountaineer Journal, Karnes expressed that he is excited to get back to work in Charleston.
“It feels very good, coming back two years after losing a primary, not only winning a primary, but winning a general election. It feels very good, but I’m also excited to get back to work in Charleston,” Karnes expressed. “We’ve done a lot of good things since Republicans took control, and I’m excited to get that moving again and looking very much forward to it.”
Karnes also expressed that his top legislative priority is to eliminate the state income tax, providing a tax break to all West Virginians by passing tax reform.
“The one big piece that we never really touched heavily was tax reform. So, for me, one of the reasons I ran was for tax reform. After four years, we just started talking about it, really. What I’m looking forward to this time is that I believe we’re going to have a very heavy focus on tax reform and I’largem looking forward to getting started with that.”
Mountain State Values, a liberal democratic political action committee, spent over $4 million against fiscally conservative republican senatorial candidates, falsely accusing them of voting to raise taxes. In 2017, republicans proposed Senate Bill 335, which sought to eliminate the state income tax, resulting in the largest tax decrease in West Virginia history. Mountain State Values and Denise Campbell deliberately mischaracterized S.B. 335, calling it a tax increase, refusing to acknowledge that it would have eliminated the state income tax. Mountain State Values spent over $200,000 in negative direct mail and social media campaigns targeting Sen. Robert Karnes.
Karnes further explained S.B. 335, discussing its financial benefits to West Virginia taxpayers.
“Senate Bill 335 was a bill that I wrote and was the lead sponsor on, and it was designed to permanently eliminate the income tax in the state of West Virginia. The way we did that was to close loopholes in the sales tax. The way I was attacked on it was: they pointed out the loopholes being closed, but they never mentioned the fact that it permanently eliminated the state income tax. So, overall, that was a massive tax cut: $800 million over five years. I wish we could have a more honest run at politics, and just let people decide for themselves (if that’s the way they want to go, as opposed to presenting it in a false light).”
Karnes concluded by thanking his supporters for their hard work, and expressing that he looks forward to making ‘West Virginia a better place.’
“The reality is that while my name was on the ticket, so to speak, there was a ton of people out there who worked really hard on this campaign: helping put out signs, talking to neighbors, helping to dispel this dishonest campaign that was run against me, talking about tax increases, when in fact I have a perfect record. So, without all those volunteers, helping with the campaign, it never could have happened. This is as much their victory as our whole state’s victory because as we move forward, we’re going to make West Virginia a better place for ourselves to live, but also for our children and our grandchildren.”
In a statement conceding the election, Campbell expressed regret entering the race; however, thanked her family and friends for their support.
“Thank you to all my family and friends for your support and kind words!” Campbell stated. “It is sad that those who want to do good are made out to be the bad one. Sorry for the pain I caused my family, friends, and the profession of nursing. What an ugly disgusting campaign. But people believed and voted who they wanted to represent them that is their choice.”
Sen. Bill Hamilton (R) was a strong critic of Sen. Robert Karnes in his 2020 races, after challenging and defeating Karnes in the 2018 Republican Primary. Karnes managed to defeat Sen. John Pitsenbarger (R), who was endorsed by Hamilton, in the 2020 Republican Primary. Interestingly enough, Karnes managed to capture 7,778 votes in his recent primary, which is 1,255 more ballots than the total number of votes Bill Hamilton received when he defeated Karnes with just 6,523 votes.
Throughout the general election, Sen. Bill Hamilton (R) actively worked against Karnes, launching a ‘Never Karnes’ effort throughout the 11th state senatorial district. Hamilton refused to endorse the Republican nominee and was public in his criticism.
On election night, Hamilton made an appearance at the Upshur County Courthouse to view the results. At approximately 9:10 p.m., Karnes took a major lead in Upshur County, resulting in a substantial 2 point overall advantage against Campbell. Once all of Upshur County’s 21 precincts reported, Karnes won the county capturing 54.51 percent, with Campbell receiving just 45.48 percent. Following Upshur County’s results, Hamilton left the Courthouse visibly distressed.
These factors are especially significant because it shows that Karnes defied all odds. He was primaried in 2018 by a left-leaning Republican challenger, who refused to endorse him in 2020 and actively campaigned against him in both the primary and general elections. He defeated a Hamilton-endorsed incumbent senator in the 2020 Republican primary. Then, he defeated Denise Campbell (D), who ran claiming to be a pro-life, pro-gun, pro-business Democrat with strong ties to Hamilton. Mountain State Values and the Campbell campaign heavily targeted republican voters by accusing Karnes of supporting higher taxes, attempting to present Denise Campbell as being the fiscally conservative choice. Despite the numerous attempts by Hamilton, Campbell, and Mountain State Values to crush Sen. Robert Karnes’ campaign, he managed to persevere, claiming a significant victory capturing 5 out of 7 counties within the district.
Sen. Robert Karnes will serve with Sen. Bill Hamilton in the state senate, both representing the 11th state senatorial district.