On Oct. 3, Delegate John Mandt Jr. (R) resigned from the West Virginia House of Delegates. He announced his resignation following accusations that he made discriminatory social media posts against gay people and Muslims.
As reported by Cumberland Times-News, Mandt responded to the accusations in a deleted Facebook post: “Everything electronic can be fabricated. It’s by design, my family, my business are being attacked.” On the night of his resignation, the West Virginia House of Delegates issued a statement in which Mandt said, “Right now, my focus and priority needs to be on my family and business, and feel it is best at this time to terminate my campaign and make room (for) other individuals to serve the state.” Mandt was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2018.
Heading into the general election, the partisan composition of the West Virginia House of Delegates is 57 Republicans, 41 Democrats, one independent, and one vacancy. West Virginia has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
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