CHARLESTON — For decades, West Virginia had one of the least fair legal systems in the country, and it showed.
We also had one of the worst economies in the nation — ranking last in workforce participation year after year, a distinction we seemed unable to shed.
Then things started to change.
Thomas
West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and likeminded organizations began focusing the public’s attention where it belonged: the courts. First came the state Supreme Court. Then voters ousted a liberal, personal injury lawyer-friendly Attorney General. Then our efforts turned to the Legislature. For the first time in 84 years, Republicans took control of the statehouse. And as a result of long overdue legislative reforms, the economy started to move.
The results were real. Dozens of legal reform bills passed in just a few short years. West Virginia was removed from the American Tort Reform Foundation's Judicial Hellholes list. These reforms enabled burdensome regulations to disappear and controlling government spending became a priority, combined with an improving economy, it produced the largest tax cut in West Virginia’s history.
Then the progress came to a halt.
Patrick Morrisey won a four-way primary for governor in May 2024. The conservative, pro-jobs Senate President was ousted by a wave of out-of-state special interest spending and replaced by a leadership team more focused on social issues than economic growth. The two legislative sessions that followed produced little progress on jobs or the economy. In fact, dozens of bills were introduced in the State Senate that would have created new causes of action or expanded civil liability — precisely the opposite direction West Virginia had fought so hard to travel.
Then came the most consequential blow yet: the 2026 primary.
Out-of-state special interests poured more than $4 million into a campaign against conservative, pro-jobs candidates, defending status quo incumbents with a relentless barrage of false, negative ads fixated on divisive social issues. Republican voters were turned off. Turnout cratered. This came on top of another Morrisey-driven decision — convincing the West Virginia Republican Party to close its primary to independent voters — which further suppressed participation and handed national Democratic enthusiasm an opening it did not earn.
Democrats and Independents showed up and they voted together against the Republican-endorsed candidates in both State Supreme Court races and the Intermediate Appellate Court seat. The results were stunning: despite Republicans holding every federal office, every seat on the Board of Public Works, and commanding supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature, their endorsed candidates for the statewide court races were defeated.
What this means for West Virginia families remains to be seen, and the full impact likely won’t become clear until decisions begin coming down this fall and into next year. What is clear, however, is that significant changes have occurred in a relatively short period of time. Policies and reforms that shaped West Virginia’s legal system over the past two decades are now being revisited as new legislative priorities and political dynamics emerge.
One thing is for sure — the price of the out-of-state special interests maneuvering to control the state Legislature will be paid by West Virginia families. Our state is already one of only four in the nation that has lost jobs over the past two years, even as the cost of living continues to climb. West Virginia cannot afford to go backward, but that is the direction the special interests who now hold so much influence over this state seem determined to take us.
Thomas is the Executive Director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.
