GRAFTON — Incumbent Sen. Jay Taylor secured the Republican nomination Tuesday in West Virginia’s 14th Senatorial District, defeating former Del. Marc Harman and former lawmaker Mike Manypenny in a closely watched primary shaped by internal Republican divisions and a late legal challenge over residency requirements.
Taylor won the six-county district with 4,193 votes, or 47.0%, while Harman received 3,827 votes, or 42.9%, and Manypenny finished with 890 votes, or 10.0%.
Taylor’s strongest performance came in Preston County, the district’s largest voting bloc, where he received 1,956 votes (65.2%) to Harman’s 576 votes (19.2%) and Manypenny’s 469 votes (15.6%). Taylor also carried Taylor County with 431 votes (64.8%), compared to Manypenny’s 154 votes (23.1%) and Harman’s 86 votes (12.1%). He narrowly won Tucker County with 202 votes (45.6%), while Harman received 183 votes (41.3%) and Manypenny earned 58 votes (13.1%).
Harman carried Grant County, where he received 1,010 votes (69.3%) to Taylor’s 382 votes (26.2%) and Manypenny’s 66 votes (4.5%). Harman also won Hardy County with 750 votes (64.5%), while Taylor received 366 votes (31.5%) and Manypenny collected 46 votes (4.0%). In Mineral County, Harman led with 1,222 votes (56.2%), compared to Taylor’s 856 votes (39.4%) and Manypenny’s 97 votes (4.5%).
The race became one of the most closely watched Republican primaries in the state because of its implications for the balance of power within the Senate Republican caucus. Taylor aligned with Senate President Randy Smith’s faction, while Harman was backed by allies of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo. Control of several contested GOP primaries was viewed as critical to determining leadership influence heading into the 2027 legislative session.
Harman’s campaign also faced turbulence in the final stretch after a legal challenge questioned whether he met the state Constitution’s one-year residency requirement for the district. Although a Kanawha County circuit judge ultimately declined to remove Harman from the ballot, the case drew significant attention during the early voting period and highlighted scrutiny over Harman’s recent move back into the district.
Manypenny, a former Democratic delegate who switched parties, drew his strongest support in Preston County, where he received more than half of his districtwide vote total.
