The resignation of state Senator Daniel Hall at the beginning of this month has kicked off a fierce battle between the Democratic and Republican Parties in West Virginia over control of his vacated seat. Some background:
Sen. Hall was originally elected to his state senate seat in 2008 as a Democrat. He most recently won re-election to the same seat as a Democrat in 2014. However, the 2014 election ended in a 17-17 split of the state senate, raising questions about majority control of the legislature. Sen. Hall took it upon himself to decide the state’s fate by switching parties three days after the election. In doing so, he handed control of both houses of the WV legislature to the Republican party for the first time in more than 80 years. He was then promptly awarded with an appointment as the Majority Whip. The result has been difficult for West Virginia as the WVGOP worked to turn back the clock. But the outlook for 2016 is even worse if the Republicans retain control of both houses. This year they plan to push through Right-to-Work legislation, repeal the Prevailing Wage, and defund Planned Parenthood, among other things.
Then Daniel Hall retired.
Daniel Hall retired on January 6th to take a high paying job with the NRA. His resignation has caused a controversy over which party should replace him in the state senate. State law requires vacancies to be filled by executive appointment from the departing senator’s party to serve out the remainder of his term. Unfortunately, there is conflicting language in the state code that does not make it clear whether it is the party from which he had just resigned or the party from which he was last elected. With control of the legislature up in the air, the stakes are high. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) is still mulling over the appointment. The WV Democratic Party launched a preemptive strike yesterday. The party filed a writ of prohibition with the state Supreme Court against Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appointing a replacement. In a press release, the party argued:
The law that requires the governor to fill a Senate vacancy with someone from the same party serves the important public policy of protecting the mandate of the voters. The law requires the vacancy to be filled by someone of the same party chosen by the voters – not the party of a Senator who sold out the voters and his party after he was elected.
“There is no court in the country that has interpreted a vacancy statute the way that the GOP wants to interpret it here,” said Attorney Anthony Majestro representing WV Democratic Party. “No legislature has adopted a statute that does what the GOP wants it to do, and no state has a constitution that permits a party switcher’s decision to resign to overturn the voters’ mandate. It is ironic that this GOP, whose members constantly tell us our courts are out of step, seeks an interpretation of our election laws unlike [any] other state in the country.”
The Republican Party has until Tuesday to file an official response. But I expect that the appointment will be taken to court no matter which way the Governor chooses.
The whole situation raises questions of democratic representation. Hall already betrayed the voters of Wyoming County by changing parties. Now the will of the voters will be decided in court instead of the ballot box.