Commentary: West Virginia politicians cutting taxes while not providing needed infrastructure improvements

“West Virginians sent us to tackle real problems and deliver real results.” — Gov. Patrick Morrisey (March 2026)

Well, the midterm elections are over and have proved to be exactly as predicted — a disaster for President Donald Trump and Republicans. The Democrats prevailed in a number of conservative, formerly red states. Like Georgia, where the Senate, the governorship and all statewide races were won by Democrats. But that did not happen in West Virginia, which over the last decade has become a Republican stronghold. The key question is will it remain that way if clearly needed services are not provided by the Republicans in charge? 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the GOP controlled Legislature cut taxes earlier this year, declaring above that tax reduction was what the state’s voters wanted. Sure, everybody wants their taxes cut and services expanded. That is why Trump is projected to run up a $2 billion deficit this year. 

However, Morrisey and the state GOP have downplayed areas in which West Virginia must improve to help the state’s citizens. In past columns, I have addressed the issue of highly inadequate healthcare services in West Virginia, especially mental health. But in this column, I will zero in on infrastructure problems.

A recent study has found West Virginia to be the worst state in the nation for infrastructure. Specifically, it is by far the poorest regarding bridge maintenance and power outages. Nearly 13% of the state’s bridges were found to be in poor condition. For comparison purposes, let’s examine Nevada and Arizona, where less than 1% were found to be in disrepair. And West Virginia had 17 hours of power outages annually, the highest in America. Nevada was at 2 hours and Arizona at 1 hour.

Undoubtedly, some of the discrepancy is due to the nature of West Virginia, a mountainous state. Still, Colorado was much better than West Virginia on both measures, with only 11% in disrepair and power outages at 5 hours versus 17 in West Virginia. So, it is not just topography that is causing the bridge and power problems.

The state also ranked poorly regarding community water system health violations and the availability of broad band systems. Only 89% of state residents get broadband, one of the lowest percentages nationally, ranking 47th. Only Montana and Alaska were worse, with 85% coverage. However, they are much larger states and more rural.

West Virginia has other issues which may be directly related to infrastructure. For example, the state has the highest number of crash rate per capita for seniors (over 65) in the nation, 42 accidents per 100K, which is double the national average. At the same time, it has one of the worst road pavement quality ratings, ranking 37th, according to the study by Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers.

Obviously, West Virginia’s politicians must address these issues which include but extend beyond just inadequate state expenditures. However, they are not widely enough discussed or solutions proposed by the governor or Legislature. 

Instead, primarily for political purposes, the state’s GOP has pushed tax cuts. Objectively, West Virginia’s taxes are not high compared to other states. For example, of the states surrounding it, only one has lower taxes — Kentucky. The other four are higher regarding taxes (including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland). 

The only way that this situation will change is for voters to put facts and results above party. West Virginia’s GOP leadership needs to hear from its citizens.