In a wrap-up of primary election news, one candidate who originally planned to withdraw from her race but remained on the ballot secured a primary win on Tuesday. Now, she’ll stay in the race for the November’s general election. And there will be historic change in government in Belle.
Here are results for Kanawha County-based state House races as well as South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä mayor, Belle mayor and Belle council.
- Staff reports
- 9 min to read
Kanawha County-based House races
District 52: In the Democratic primary, Joyce Brown received 507 total votes from Kanawha and Fayette counties (39.61%) while Michelle Harper received 493 (38.52%), and Seth Adkins had 280 (21.88%). Brown will face Republican Tresa Howell in November.
This is an undated contributed photo of Keena Mullins, Democratic candidate for District 53 in the House of Delegates in the 2026 general election.
Courtesy photoDistrict 53: With 686 votes (64.66%), Democrat Keena Mullins, who had plans to withdraw, defeated Howard Mize, 375 (35.34%). “[I’m] very excited and surprised at the results,†Mullins said in a text message. “This changes everything. I am going to be very busy for about a week gearing up to run a winning campaign that I 100% didn’t expect I’d be running, simply because [Mize] was a good candidate.†Incumbent Tristan Leavitt secured the Republican nomination with 662 votes (68.46%) over Terry J. Burns, 305 votes (31.54%).
District 55: Anthony Dasaro won the Democratic nomination with 1,079 votes (67.56%) over Aaron Crank, 518 (32.44%). Dasaro will face Republican JB Akers in the general election.
District 58: Democrat Marisa Jackson, with 1,007 votes (75.66%) defeated Alaina Schwechler, 324 votes (24.34%). Jackson will face incumbent Republican Walter Hall in the general election.
District 61: Sue Crawford is the Democratic nominee for District 61 with 426 votes (56.95%), and Shane Woodrum had 322 (43.05%). Republican incumbent Dean Jeffries won with 1,106 votes (79.51%) over Lewis A. Taylor, 285 (20.49%).
Kanawha County Sheriff Joey Crawford (left) shakes hands with someone as ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and County Commissioner Ben Salango hug in the county's Voter Registration Office on Primary Election Day on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
- LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
ESNS representative Rob Coffman (left), Election Worker Kenny Akers (center left), County Attorney Marc Slotnick (center right), and Election Supervisor Greg Jones, Jr. (right) work together in the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
- LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Tracy Atkinson (left), County Clerk Vera McCormick (center left), Vickie Caruthers (right, foreground), and Darla Bleigh (right, back) hand count the write-in ballots for the Mayor of Belle in the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
- LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Deputy County Attorney Christopher Suttles (left) stands by Election Supervisor Greg Jones, Jr. (right) as he collects printed election results at the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
- LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Polls closed across West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Then the real work began for Kanawha County Voter Registration Office workers under the direction of County Clerk Vera McCormick (shown here) as the task of ballot counting begins.
Lance Wheeler, a current Kanawha County Commissioner who is seeking the Republican nomination in the West Virginia State Senate’s 8th District, is seen at the Kanawha County Voter Registration Office in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä as polls close on primary election night on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
Dunbar residents Carolyn Campbell (left) watches her father, Joseph McClain (right) walk in to vote at the polling place inside Dunbar Mountain Mission Church in Dunbar, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. McClain is a life long Dunbar resident and voter. “He’s been in there since I was little,†said Campbell.
- LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Belle and South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
In two Kanawha County municipal governments, there will be several new faces and one familiar one. The new Belle mayor will make history as the town’s first woman in that position, and a long-time mayor will remain at the helm in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Belle mayor and council: Running uncontested in a non-partisan race, former councilwoman Melanie R. Vickers will be the next mayor for the town of Belle, as current Mayor Dave Fletcher did not run for reelection. Vickers received 194 votes (67.83%). There were 92 write-in votes; write-in totals for David De La Torre were 90 votes (31.47%).
Current council members who ran for reelection, Marc Doughty and Nicole Fletcher, will remain on council, with newcomers Kaleigh Holstion, Tracy Grounds-Chapman and Danny Lee Morris voted to council as well.
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Mayor Frank Mullens speaks at a groundbreaking event on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, for a new Kroger Marketplace to be located at the city's Park Place development. The 120,000-square-foot grocery store is expected to open by mid-2026.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-MailSouth ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä mayor: Long-time Mayor Frank Mullens, in office since 2007, won reelection over Susan B. Casdorph, 887 to 128 votes. There was no Democrat on the ballot for mayor in the primary.
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä City Council: There were three contested primary races and several races with no candidates.
In the Republican primary, incumbent Kent Rymer defeated Dale Goff for the Ward 1 seat, 147-46 (76.17%-23.83%); and incumbent John E. Golden defeated Michael Bell and Mike MacDonald in Ward 8, 75 to 59 to 28 votes (46.3%, 36.42%, 17.28%), respectively. Other uncontested primary winners were incumbents Laura Marker (Ward 4) and Bob Lilly (Ward 6).
In the Democratic primary, incumbents Tommy Spurlock (Ward 2), Kathleen Fox Walker (Ward 3), Jeff Williamson (Ward 4), David DiFilippo (Ward 5), Karley Walker (Ward 6) and incumbent Bill Horton (Ward 8) had no primary challengers. In Ward 7, Amanda Franklin defeated incumbent Westley Smolder 115-58 (66.47%-33.53%).
In November, the only contested council seats will be Ward 4 (Marker/Williamson) and Ward 6 (Lilly/Walker).
