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| Turnout | 57.45%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results Precinct results
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The2016 United States presidential election in West Virginia was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the2016 general election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.West Virginia voters chose electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote pitting theRepublican nominee, businessmanDonald Trump, and running mateIndiana GovernorMike Pence againstDemocratic nominee, formerSecretary of StateHillary Clinton and her running mate, VirginiaSenatorTim Kaine.
On May 10, 2016, in thepresidential primaries, West Virginia voters expressed their preferences for theDemocratic,Republican,Green, andLibertarian parties' respective nominees for president. Registered members of each party only voted in their party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated chose any one primary in which to vote.
Donald Trump won West Virginia with 68.5% of the vote, his largest share of the vote in any state. Hillary Clinton received just over a quarter of the vote, with 26.4%. Trump's performance in the state made it his strongest state in the 2016 election by total vote share.[2]
West Virginia was also one of two states where Donald Trump won every county, the other beingOklahoma. This was the second consecutive presidential election where every county within the state voted Republican. Trump's 42.1% margin of victory is the largest of any presidential candidate from either party in the state's history, bestingAbraham Lincoln's 36.4% margin of victory in1864. Hillary Clinton's performance was the worst by a major party nominee since1912, when three candidates split the vote and received over 20% of the vote each, and, as of the2024 election, remains the worst performance ever by a Democrat in West Virginia. Clinton won fewer votes in the general election than were cast in her party's primary overall, as well as fewer than she received in the 2008 state primary. Clinton also received the fewest votes for a Democrat in a West Virginia presidential election since1916, exactly 100 years prior.
Six candidates appeared on the Democratic presidential primary ballot[3](alphabetically):
| West Virginia Democratic primary, May 10, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Bernie Sanders | 124,700 | 51.41% | 18 | 18 | |
| Hillary Clinton | 86,914 | 35.84% | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| Paul T. Farrell Jr. | 21,694 | 8.94% | |||
| Keith Judd | 4,460 | 1.84% | |||
| Martin O'Malley(withdrawn) | 3,796 | 1.57% | |||
| Rocky De La Fuente | 975 | 0.40% | |||
| Uncommitted | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 242,539 | 100% | 29 | 8 | 37 |
| Source:[4][5] | |||||
Eleven candidates appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot:[3]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Donald Trump | 157,238 | 77.05% | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| Ted Cruz(withdrawn) | 18,301 | 8.97% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Kasich(withdrawn) | 13,721 | 6.72% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Carson(withdrawn) | 4,421 | 2.17% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marco Rubio(withdrawn) | 2,908 | 1.43% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeb Bush(withdrawn) | 2,305 | 1.13% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rand Paul(withdrawn) | 1,798 | 0.88% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee(withdrawn) | 1,780 | 0.87% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Christie(withdrawn) | 727 | 0.36% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carly Fiorina(withdrawn) | 659 | 0.32% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Eames Hall | 203 | 0.10% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total: | 204,061 | 100.00% | 34 | 0 | 34 |
| Source:The Green Papers | |||||
| Trump 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2016 |
| CNN[7] | Safe R | November 4, 2016 |
| Cook Political Report[8] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Electoral-vote.com[9] | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[10] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[12] | Safe R | November 8, 2016 |
| Fox News[13] | Safe R | November 7, 2016 |
| 2016 United States presidential election in West Virginia[14] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | Donald Trump ofNew York | Mike Pence ofIndiana | 489,371 | 68.50% | 5 | 100.00% |  6.30% | ||
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton ofNew York | Tim Kaine ofVirginia | 188,794 | 26.43% | 0 | 0.00% |  9.11% | ||
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson ofNew Mexico | Bill Weld ofMassachusetts | 23,004 | 3.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 2.28% | ||
| Mountain | Jill Stein ofMassachusetts | Ajamu Baraka ofIllinois | 8,075 | 1.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.47% | ||
| Constitution | Darrell L. Castle ofTennessee | Scott N. Bradley ofUtah | 3,807 | 0.53% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.51% | ||
| Write-in | Various of Various | Various of Various | 1,372 | 0.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.03% | ||
| Total | 714,423 | 100.00% | 5 | 100.00% | |||||
| County | Donald Trump Republican | Hillary Clinton Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barbour | 4,527 | 74.02% | 1,222 | 19.98% | 367 | 6.00% | 3,305 | 54.04% | 6,116 |
| Berkeley | 28,244 | 65.13% | 12,321 | 28.41% | 2,799 | 6.46% | 15,923 | 36.72% | 43,364 |
| Boone | 6,504 | 74.09% | 1,790 | 20.39% | 485 | 5.52% | 4,714 | 53.70% | 8,779 |
| Braxton | 3,537 | 69.35% | 1,321 | 25.90% | 242 | 4.75% | 2,216 | 43.45% | 5,100 |
| Brooke | 6,625 | 68.33% | 2,568 | 26.49% | 503 | 5.18% | 4,057 | 41.84% | 9,696 |
| Cabell | 19,850 | 59.09% | 11,447 | 34.08% | 2,294 | 6.83% | 8,403 | 25.01% | 33,591 |
| Calhoun | 2,035 | 77.14% | 456 | 17.29% | 147 | 5.57% | 1,579 | 59.85% | 2,638 |
| Clay | 2,300 | 76.79% | 568 | 18.96% | 127 | 4.25% | 1,732 | 57.83% | 2,995 |
| Doddridge | 2,358 | 82.36% | 362 | 12.64% | 143 | 5.00% | 1,996 | 69.72% | 2,863 |
| Fayette | 10,357 | 66.91% | 4,290 | 27.72% | 831 | 5.37% | 6,067 | 39.19% | 15,478 |
| Gilmer | 1,896 | 73.52% | 545 | 21.13% | 138 | 5.35% | 1,351 | 52.39% | 2,579 |
| Grant | 4,346 | 87.53% | 512 | 10.31% | 107 | 2.16% | 3,834 | 77.22% | 4,965 |
| Greenbrier | 9,556 | 67.18% | 3,765 | 26.47% | 903 | 6.35% | 5,791 | 40.71% | 14,224 |
| Hampshire | 6,692 | 77.11% | 1,580 | 18.20% | 407 | 4.69% | 5,112 | 58.91% | 8,679 |
| Hancock | 8,909 | 69.59% | 3,262 | 25.48% | 631 | 4.93% | 5,647 | 44.11% | 12,802 |
| Hardy | 4,274 | 75.33% | 1,155 | 20.36% | 245 | 4.31% | 3,119 | 54.97% | 5,674 |
| Harrison | 18,750 | 66.14% | 7,694 | 27.14% | 1,907 | 6.72% | 11,056 | 39.00% | 28,351 |
| Jackson | 9,020 | 73.31% | 2,663 | 21.64% | 621 | 5.05% | 6,357 | 51.67% | 12,304 |
| Jefferson | 13,204 | 53.88% | 9,518 | 38.84% | 1,786 | 7.28% | 3,686 | 15.04% | 24,508 |
| Kanawha | 43,850 | 57.03% | 28,263 | 36.76% | 4,775 | 6.21% | 15,587 | 20.27% | 76,888 |
| Lewis | 5,274 | 76.04% | 1,347 | 19.42% | 315 | 4.54% | 3,927 | 56.62% | 6,936 |
| Lincoln | 5,307 | 74.36% | 1,459 | 20.44% | 371 | 5.20% | 3,848 | 53.92% | 7,137 |
| Logan | 9,897 | 79.56% | 2,092 | 16.82% | 451 | 3.62% | 7,805 | 62.74% | 12,440 |
| Marion | 14,668 | 62.77% | 6,964 | 29.80% | 1,735 | 7.43% | 7,704 | 32.97% | 23,367 |
| Marshall | 9,666 | 72.39% | 2,918 | 21.85% | 769 | 5.76% | 6,748 | 50.54% | 13,353 |
| Mason | 7,654 | 74.54% | 2,081 | 20.26% | 534 | 5.20% | 5,573 | 54.28% | 10,269 |
| McDowell | 4,629 | 74.11% | 1,438 | 23.02% | 179 | 2.87% | 3,191 | 51.09% | 6,246 |
| Mercer | 17,404 | 75.03% | 4,704 | 20.28% | 1,089 | 4.69% | 12,700 | 54.75% | 23,197 |
| Mineral | 9,070 | 77.71% | 2,050 | 17.56% | 551 | 4.73% | 7,020 | 60.15% | 11,671 |
| Mingo | 7,911 | 83.17% | 1,370 | 14.40% | 231 | 2.43% | 6,541 | 68.77% | 9,512 |
| Monongalia | 18,432 | 50.13% | 14,699 | 39.97% | 3,641 | 9.90% | 3,733 | 10.16% | 36,772 |
| Monroe | 4,443 | 75.92% | 1,111 | 18.98% | 298 | 5.10% | 3,332 | 56.94% | 5,852 |
| Morgan | 5,732 | 74.09% | 1,573 | 20.33% | 432 | 5.58% | 4,159 | 53.76% | 7,737 |
| Nicholas | 7,251 | 75.70% | 1,840 | 19.21% | 488 | 5.09% | 5,411 | 56.49% | 9,579 |
| Ohio | 11,139 | 61.16% | 5,493 | 30.16% | 1,582 | 8.68% | 5,646 | 31.00% | 18,214 |
| Pendleton | 2,398 | 73.69% | 729 | 22.40% | 127 | 3.91% | 1,669 | 51.29% | 3,254 |
| Pleasants | 2,358 | 74.17% | 621 | 19.53% | 200 | 6.30% | 1,737 | 54.64% | 3,179 |
| Pocahontas | 2,496 | 67.92% | 928 | 25.25% | 251 | 6.83% | 1,568 | 42.67% | 3,675 |
| Preston | 9,538 | 74.73% | 2,470 | 19.35% | 756 | 5.92% | 7,068 | 55.38% | 12,764 |
| Putnam | 17,788 | 70.56% | 5,884 | 23.34% | 1,539 | 6.10% | 11,904 | 47.22% | 25,211 |
| Raleigh | 22,048 | 73.76% | 6,443 | 21.55% | 1,401 | 4.69% | 15,605 | 52.21% | 29,892 |
| Randolph | 7,629 | 69.55% | 2,735 | 24.93% | 605 | 5.52% | 4,894 | 44.62% | 10,969 |
| Ritchie | 3,405 | 82.95% | 496 | 12.08% | 204 | 4.97% | 2,909 | 70.87% | 4,105 |
| Roane | 3,781 | 71.12% | 1,222 | 22.99% | 313 | 5.89% | 2,559 | 48.13% | 5,316 |
| Summers | 3,455 | 70.61% | 1,190 | 24.32% | 248 | 5.07% | 2,265 | 46.29% | 4,893 |
| Taylor | 4,733 | 71.79% | 1,491 | 22.61% | 369 | 5.60% | 3,242 | 49.18% | 6,593 |
| Tucker | 2,565 | 73.26% | 751 | 21.45% | 185 | 5.29% | 1,814 | 51.81% | 3,501 |
| Tyler | 2,996 | 81.15% | 507 | 13.73% | 189 | 5.12% | 2,489 | 67.42% | 3,692 |
| Upshur | 7,005 | 75.34% | 1,766 | 18.99% | 527 | 5.67% | 5,239 | 56.35% | 9,298 |
| Wayne | 11,152 | 72.67% | 3,357 | 21.87% | 838 | 5.46% | 7,795 | 50.80% | 15,347 |
| Webster | 2,302 | 76.45% | 556 | 18.47% | 153 | 5.08% | 1,746 | 57.98% | 3,011 |
| Wetzel | 4,519 | 71.59% | 1,359 | 21.53% | 434 | 6.88% | 3,160 | 50.06% | 6,312 |
| Wirt | 1,911 | 78.90% | 386 | 15.94% | 125 | 5.16% | 1,525 | 62.96% | 2,422 |
| Wood | 25,434 | 70.51% | 8,400 | 23.29% | 2,237 | 6.20% | 17,034 | 47.22% | 36,071 |
| Wyoming | 6,547 | 83.08% | 1,062 | 13.48% | 271 | 3.44% | 5,485 | 69.60% | 7,880 |
| Totals | 489,371 | 67.85% | 188,794 | 26.18% | 43,096 | 5.97% | 300,577 | 41.67% | 721,261 |
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by countyTrump won all three congressional districts.[15]
| District | Trump | Clinton | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 68% | 26% | David McKinley |
| 2nd | 66% | 29% | Alex Mooney |
| 3rd | 73% | 23% | Evan Jenkins |
As expected,Republican nomineeDonald Trump won West Virginia in a 42-point rout (the largest of any presidential candidate in the state's history) overDemocratic nomineeHillary Clinton,[16] thanks to ardent support fromcoal industryworkers inAppalachia. He thus captured all fiveelectoral votes from West Virginia.
West Virginia is one of the least-educated states in the country, with only one county having at least 40% of its adult residents with a Bachelor's degree (see the map). That county,Monongalia County (home toWest Virginia University), had the smallest swing to Trump out of any county in the state. The rest of the state swung massively to Trump.[17]
Trump had promised to bring backmining jobs in economically depressed areas ofcoal country, whereas his opponent had proposed investing millions into converting the region to a producer ofgreen energy.[18][19] Democrats' championing ofenvironmentalism is viewed as a threat in coal country, and Clinton faced a towering rejection from Mountain State voters. Clinton was also seen as being "haunted" by a comment she made within the state itself, in which, while describing thetransition to sustainable energy, she stated "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business."[20]
West Virginia was once a solidly Democratic state; it voted Democratic in every election from1932 to1996, except for the Republican landslides of1956,1972, and1984. However, in recent years it has drifted to becoming solidly Republican, and has stayed that way since it was won byGeorge W. Bush in2000.Barack Obama, for example, failed to win even a single county in2012. West Virginia is one of the two states where Hillary Clinton did not win any counties, the other beingOklahoma, which last voted for a Democrat in1964.[21]
The change to increasing Republican control had also been reflected at the state level. While West Virginia was one of several states with a Democratic governor (Earl Ray Tomblin) in 2016 where Trump won, Republicans had won both chambers of the state legislature in the2014 elections. In the ensuing years, more statewide executive offices also were won by Republican candidates.
State and district results of the2016 United States presidential election | ||
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