← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · West Virginia

Endorses Kirkpatrick

The race

This special election was decided on May 12, 2026 — West Virginia holds its nonpartisan judicial elections with the May primary — for the unexpired term of Justice Tim Armstead, who died in August 2025; the term runs through 2032. Governor Patrick Morrisey appointed Gerald Titus to the seat in November 2025. Five candidates ran in the nonpartisan election, and the appointed incumbent lost: H. L. Kirkpatrick won with 66,007 votes (31.05%), followed by Titus (56,034; 26.36%), Laura V. Faircloth (44,435; 20.90%), Todd Kirby (26,923; 12.67%), and Martin Sheehan (19,172; 9.02%). Kirkpatrick and Flanigan (Division 2) took their oaths in June 2026 after certification. A PAC linked to Governor Morrisey reportedly spent about $125,000 supporting each appointed incumbent in the two supreme court races; both lost — the first defeats of West Virginia supreme court incumbents since 2016.

H. L. Kirkpatrick — Winner. Kirkpatrick spent 20 years in private practice, was appointed to the Raleigh County circuit court bench by Democratic Governor Gaston Caperton in January 1996, and was re-elected in 2000, 2008, and 2016 before retiring in December 2024 — more than 30 years on the bench counting senior-status service. He is a West Virginia University College of Law graduate. His campaign was also the best-funded in the race, at an estimated $819,350 in television spending per the Brennan Center's tracking.

Gerald Titus — Appointed incumbent, lost. Titus was Governor Morrisey's November 2025 appointee and had served roughly six months on the court when voters decided. He had the governor's backing and an estimated $534,862 in campaign television spending, but he was, as the governor himself conceded afterward, relatively unknown statewide.

Laura V. Faircloth — Judge of the 27th Judicial Circuit (Berkeley County area), finished third at 20.90%. Todd Kirby — Raleigh County circuit court judge, finished fourth at 12.67%. Martin Sheehan — Attorney, finished fifth at 9.02%.

Pros and cons

Kirkpatrick: Credits: The deepest bench record in the field by an order of magnitude — 28-plus years as a circuit judge, three re-elections by the voters of his circuit, and senior-status service after retirement; appointed originally by a Democratic governor and sustained by voters of both parties' eras, which is bipartisan durability, not party machinery. Dirt and debits: A 31% plurality means 69% of voters chose someone else — a fact of the system, printed plainly; his campaign's heavy television spending (the largest in the race) is documented and voters may weigh what it bought; no signature appellate record exists because circuit judges do not write appellate opinions.

Titus: Credits: A sitting justice elevated by the governor with the state GOP's establishment behind him, including roughly $125,000 in linked PAC support. Dirt and debits: Six months of incumbency is an unproven supreme court record, and his defeat is itself the documented verdict of the only electorate that graded it; appointment-then-immediate-election gave him no time to build the record an incumbent normally runs on.

Faircloth and Kirby: Credits: Both sitting circuit judges — real, current trial-bench service in their circuits. Debits: Neither built a statewide profile or a sourced appellate-philosophy record in the coverage retrieved; their vote shares (20.90%, 12.67%) reflect that.

Sheehan: Credits: A practicing attorney willing to contest a statewide seat. Debits: No judicial service and no sourced record beyond candidacy in this pass; 9.02%.

Record gaps

OUR CALL

Our call: endorse H. L. Kirkpatrick. In a five-way nonpartisan field, the discriminating evidence was bench depth, and it was not close: three decades judging, three voter re-elections in his circuit, and service under appointing and electing authorities of both parties. Titus's six appointed months were unproven, and unproven does not beat proven when the proven record is this long and this clean in the sources searched. Voters agreed: Kirkpatrick won the plurality and took the oath on June 12, 2026, for the term through 2032. This page stands as our record of that pick.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

← Full down-ballot enumeration