MORGANTOWN — Rachel Fetty Anderson scored an election night upset in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating former state Senate President Jeff Kessler, who entered the race as the best-known candidate in the five-person field and was widely viewed as the frontrunner because of his long tenure in state politics.
Anderson built a coalition across north-central and eastern West Virginia while drawing heavily from university communities and population centers to secure the nomination.
Anderson received 30,743 votes statewide, finishing with 33.4% of the vote according to unofficial returns. Kessler placed second with 24,554 votes (26.7%), followed by Zachary Shrewsbury with 14,973 votes (16.3%), Thornton Cooper with 11,736 votes (12.7%) and Rio Phillips with 10,086 votes (11.0%).
Anderson’s strongest performance came in Monongalia County, where she won 5,236 votes, or 67.7% of ballots cast in the Democratic Senate primary there. She also posted major victories in Marion County with 2,661 votes, Harrison County with 2,225 votes, Berkeley County with 1,793 votes and Wood County with 1,663 votes.
She carried much of north-central West Virginia and several Eastern Panhandle counties, while also remaining competitive in larger urban counties including Cabell and Kanawha.
Kessler’s strongest county was Marshall County, where he received 1,696 votes, or 87.1%. He also performed strongly in Ohio County with 1,649 votes and Wetzel County with 801 votes, giving him a dominant showing across portions of the Northern Panhandle.
Shrewsbury’s top performance came in Mercer County, where he earned 1,459 votes, or 71.4%. He also won Monroe, Summers, Wyoming and McDowell counties, showing strength across southern West Virginia.
Cooper’s strongest county was Boone County, where he received 558 votes, or 36.0%. He also led the field in Kanawha County with 3,923 votes and carried Putnam County with 690 votes.
Phillips posted his best result in Logan County with 322 votes, or 29.5%, while remaining competitive in several southern coalfield counties.
Unofficial statewide totals were:
• Rachel Fetty Anderson — 30,743 votes (33.4%)
• Jeff Kessler — 24,554 votes (26.7%)
• Zachary Shrewsbury — 14,973 votes (16.3%)
• Thornton Cooper — 11,736 votes (12.7%)
• Rio Phillips — 10,086 votes (11.0%)
A total of 92,092 votes were cast in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Anderson will face Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in the upcoming general election.
