Democratic women gain 8 seats in the House, moving the needle in the male-dominated chamber

Democratic women made strides in West Virginia on Election Day, winning eight seats in the House of Delegates.

West Virginia’s Legislature has the fewest number of women lawmakers, with just 12 Republican and Democratic women serving in the House.

In 2027, that number will grow to 19.

“I am so excited for the breadth of representation for women that we are going to have in the West Virginia House,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha. “We’re going to have so many new women — 10 Democratic women and nine Republican women.”

“I think people know that women get things done,” she added.

While the GOP maintains firm control of the House, the Democratic caucus added 12 new members after election results thus far. The House Democratic Caucus will go from the current nine to 21 in 2027.

On the left side of the House floor, where the minority caucus sits, most of the new faces will be female.

Marisa Jackson, a Democrat in St. Albans, is familiar with the Legislature after advocating for her two children with disabilities. She defeated incumbent Del. Walt Hall, R-Kanawha, in District 58.

Jackson acknowledged she is joining a still predominantly male Legislature.

“I feel this deep sense of duty to do my best, to represent people,” she said. “Women are half the population, and we deserve to have female voices representing us in the Legislature. We understand issues in a different way men may not understand, so we can bring a different perspective when we’re making laws affecting people.”

Democratic women picked up three seats in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle: Jenny Thacker won the race for District 100, Lucia Valentine won in District 97 and Regina Dyer won in District 99.

Thacker, a retired ocean cartographer for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, said it’s “fantastic” that more women won seats in the statehouse.

Women tend to focus on issues like healthcare, education and childcare more than male legislators, she said.

“Women need more healthcare, and we need different healthcare than men do,” Thacker said. “Education. And not that men don’t care about their children’s education, but women tend to be much more front line with education, caring for foster kids, caring for the childcare issues. There a lot of women wind up getting stuck staying home because they can’t find childcare.”

Democrat Karen Stakem won the District 5 race in the Northern Panhandle over Republican Beth Hinebaugh. The seat was formerly held by Democrat Shawn Fluharty, who lost his bid for the state Senate Tuesday to incumbent Republican Laura Wakim Chapman.

“I think it’s great that we picked up seats in general because I believe in balance,” Stakem said Wednesday. “I believe having two different sides makes for better policy, and we haven’t seen that in recent years having a super majority. So I’m excited there’s going to be more balance back in the Legislature.”

Stakem, a small business owner and mother of three, said her priorities in the Legislature are bringing good jobs to the state, improving quality of life and making things more affordable.

She also hopes that having more women in the Legislature will lead lawmakers to focus on public education.

West Virginia’s public school funding woes are expected to dominate the 2027 legislative session, which will begin in January. Lawmakers are considering how they could change the state’s school funding formula in light of the declining enrollment.

Thacker, a first-time candidate, said the current Legislature hasn’t paid attention to what people in Jefferson County wanted on issues like data centers. Thacker said many residents in her district worry that the area is developing too fast, and that there’s not enough water for people, let alone data centers.

“There are issues that are very specific to our county that run the gamut. They’re not Republican issues. They’re not Democrat issues. They’re not national issues. They are our issues, and we need to focus on those. And that’s what I’ve been doing,” Thacker said.

Jefferson County sits across the state border from Loudoun County, Virginia, which has one of the highest median incomes in the country. Public teachers living in Jefferson County drive to work in Virginia, where they can earn more money, she said.

“I’m hoping that we can get a locality pay that isn’t just for the Eastern Panhandle, but a locality pay for every county that’s higher than average cost of living,” Thacker said. “Because our cost of living here, a typical house in this area is like $400,000. There are parts of West Virginia where you can buy a house for $40,000. You know, one tenth of what it costs here. And yet, we all have the same base pay scale wherever we are in West Virginia. That doesn’t work.”

Lawmakers have floated the idea of locality pay for teachers in the past, but measures haven’t made it to the governor’s desk.

Other Democratic women who won House races on Tuesday are: Linda Longstreth in Marion County; Olivia Miller in Monongalia County; and Shannon Welsh in Harrison County.

In a statement Wednesday, Del. Mike Pushkin, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, said he’s proud that eight of the 12 newly elected Democrats in the House are women, who will make up nearly half the caucus.

“These victories are a testament to the strength, determination, and leadership of women across West Virginia who stepped forward to fight for their communities and bring a fresh perspective to the Legislature,” Pushkin said.

Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, and Young both were unopposed this year and will return to the House.

Across the nation, a record number of women ran in state legislative races this year.

“I think people want to see change. Women want to be represented by women,” Young said. “I think we’re finally seeing the tides turn after redistricting and after 10 years of President Trump. We’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”