May 12, 2026 Commission and BOE Election Results

May 12, 2026 Commission and BOE Election Results

Although primary elections seldom produce stunning results, yesterday’s Pocahontas County Primary did in two local, but very important elections, the County commission Primary and in the Board of Education election.

In the Commission Republican Primary race, Matthew Barkley won with 612 votes, while Mike Garber received 237 votes, and incumbent John Rebinski 90 votes. Although this was only a primary, there was no Democratic Party primary because no one had filed as a Democrat to run for the County Commissioner, so unless someone obtains and files enough petitions before the General Election in November, Barkley will be the only candidate for commissioner on that ballot.

In the Board of Education election contest – which is final and binding for the three open non-partisan positions on the board, the three winners were:

1. Connie Rose (Southern District) with 1,164 votes.
2. Edwina Garber (Northern District) with 844 votes.
3. Regina Hall (Central District) with 804 votes.

The other candidates for the BOE were:

Andrew (Frosty) McNabb receiving 522 votes.

Karen McCoy receiving 447 votes.

Morgan McComb receiving 391 votes.

Stephen McCarty Jr. receiving 239 votes.

Fred Koerber receiving 124 votes.

Carl V Kelk receiving 50 votes.

The winning BOE Candidates will assume their positions on the Board of Education after July 1^st, 2026.

Additional election information:

For the WV State Senate for the 11^th district representing Pocahontas and Randolph Counties, incumbent Bill Hamilton won the Republican nomination with 41% of the vote, over opponents Jack Reger and Robert Karnes. He will face Kevin Leon Carpenter in the fall who ran opposed for the Democratic nomination.

For the WV House of Delegates for the 66^th district representing Pocahontas, Danielle M. Dougherty was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.  Likewise incumbent Johnathan B. Kyle ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.  They will face each other the position in the fall election.

For Justice of the WV Supreme Court of Appeals, Division 1, HL Kirkpatrick was the winner.  In Division 2, Bill Flanagan was the winner.  Jim Douglas won the election for the Intermediate Court of Appeals.