To: All Members of the KCDEC
From: Elaine Harris, Chair

Good evening Everyone:

Last Tuesday Democrats all around West Virginia and the United States suffered terrible losses. While we feel down for the losses, we must also look at the bright spots that we had here in Kanawha County due to the hard work of our County Democratic Party, the Federation of Democratic Women and the volunteers who were there to help us along the way.

We can be proud to know Delegate Kayla Young won re-election to her House seat and Delegate Hollis Lewis kept the seat he was appointed to. Natalie Tennant was elected our next County Commissioner, and she will be the first female to ever hold a seat on our County Commission. These were tough and difficult races, but with everyone pulling together and giving them the help and support they needed – these races were wins in the Democratic column. Assessor Sallie Robinson won re-election and will serve another term as our Kanawha County Assessor and Delegate Mike Pushkin won re-election to his house seat. Our first time candidates who lost their races should not be discouraged. They need to run again! Start early, build on the base that has been established and work toward election in the mid-term. Stay involved! In the City of Dunbar – the Democratic Mayor was re-elected, and Democrats have won a majority of the City Council seats.

Though not the outcomes that we wanted, the Democratic Nominee for Governor – Steve Williams – performed very well in Kanawha County and even with misleading language Kanawha County voters rejected Amendment 1 soundly, even though the rest of the state took the bait and the amendment passed with a very tight simple majority.

It has been a long and tiring campaign season for us all. With that said, the November and December regular meetings of the KCDEC are cancelled. We will not be having regular meetings for the rest of 2024. Announcements for 2025 will be forthcoming. Let’s remember our Veterans and say a prayer for them in honor of Veterans Day. Please enjoy the rest of November – along with the Thanksgiving Holiday and December and the extended Holiday season with your families.