By Matthew Young
For HDMedia
With West Virginia first lady Denise Morrisey spending thousands of dollars in an effort to sway the May Republican primary in his favor, and despite taking significant criticism from members of the GOP establishment, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has doubled down on his emulation of President Donald Trump by endorsing yet another candidate.
Taking to Facebook on Tuesday, Morrisey said, “Today I’m proud to announce the endorsement of Delegate Wayne Clark (R-Jefferson).”
Referring to Clark as a “staunch supporter of our pro-jobs, economic growth agenda,” Morrisey cited Clark’s work on “several key tourism initiatives” as evidence of that support.
The endorsement comes as Morrisey continues to buck tradition and violate the Republican Party’s “Eleventh Commandment” by weighing in on primary races.
On Friday, Lars Dalseide, with Morrisey’s communications team, said, “The governor won’t apologize for trying to partner with senators and delegates who want to lift our state up in the economic rankings, address the affordability challenges facing our citizens, advance educational attainment, fix our infrastructure, and retain our values.”
Denise Morrisey and the Battle for Greenbrier County
Gov. Morrisey first broke with tradition on April 7, when he endorsed Jonathan Comer in his primary challenge of sitting Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier. In doing so, Morrisey disregarded late President Ronald Reagan’s “Eleventh Commandment” of Republican politics — “thou shalt not speak poorly of a fellow Republican.”
Citing the need for “change agents” to be elected to public office, Morrisey noted, “Many elected legislators claim to be Republicans, but in practice are RINOs — Republicans in name only.”
While Deeds did not publicly oppose any of Morrisey’s stated legislative priorities, he did co-sponsor a proposal that would have required the serving governor of West Virginia to have been born in the state. Had it been adopted, Senate Joint Resolution 19, otherwise known as the Governor Born in West Virginia Amendment, would have modified the state’s constitution to restrict eligibility.
“I’m sorry but the military kid in me is deeply offended by this shallow and unwelcoming amendment … to limit who can run for Governor,” Denise Morrisey, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, wrote on Facebook, on Feb. 5. “No zip code should limit a person’s ability to run for any office in our land and especially not West Virginia.”
Patrick Morrisey was born in Brooklyn, New York.
While the governor hasn’t publicly acknowledged SJR 19 on social media, he did endorse Comer in his primary race against Deeds. Taking it one step further, the first lady echoed her husband’s endorsement, while also making a $2,800 campaign donation, the maximum allowed, to Comer’s campaign. Denise Morrisey is listed as a “consultant,” with a physical address in White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, on the Comer campaign’s first-quarter 2026 financial report.
Joining Deeds as co-sponsor of SJR 19 was Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, who referred to Patrick Morrisey as the “gentleman from New Jersey” during the 2025 legislative session.
In addition to her campaign donation to Comer, Denise Morrisey also made a $2,800 donation to Charles D. Hartzog’s primary campaign, challenging House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood. Criss publicly clashed with the governor during the recent legislative session over Morrisey’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal. On Hartzog’s financial statement, Denise Morrisey’s occupation is recorded as “lobbyist,” and her address is listed as the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston.
According to campaign filings, as of the first week of April, Denise Morrisey has spent at least $5,600 of her personal money in an effort to defeat her husband’s political opponents.
‘One of the top three worst governors’
The Morriseys’ challenges with the Legislature, however, were not limited to Deeds and Criss. Once again turning to Facebook on Thursday, the governor expressed his frustrations even further, saying, “I’m not going to support candidates who are too afraid to take the bold actions required to move WV up.”
Also joining the social media war of words this week was Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood.
Taking to Facebook on Monday, Heckert wrote, “You called down the thunder now deal with it. We tried to get along. We tried to go along, but what we didn’t do is follow his orders, and we will not.”
Noting that he’d been “quiet for way too long,” Heckert called into question the Patrick and Denise Morrisey’s history as lobbyists and involvement with special interests.
Reached Friday morning, Heckert said, “At the beginning of the legislative session, [House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay], Vernon Criss, and myself said it was time to bury the hatchet.”
Heckert explained that both he and Criss flanked the governor as he entered the House Chamber to deliver his 2026 State of the State Address on the evening of Jan. 14. This act was intended to demonstrate the Legislature’s intention to work with the governor as equals, Heckert said, adding that he was left feeling hopeful at the close of the evening. However, the feeling was short-lived.
“None of us get a chance to see [Morrisey’s] vision,” Heckert said. “We’re just told to ‘do this’ and ‘do that.’ That ain’t good governance, that’s dictatorship.”
“There ain’t no doubt in my mind that Patrick Morrisey is going to go down as one of the top three [attorneys general] in the history of the state of West Virginia,” Heckert said. “But if he doesn’t change his course, he’s probably going down as one of the top three worst governors.”
As for Morrisey breaking with Republican norms to endorse primary candidates, Heckert was unfazed. Repeating something he’d been told by a supporter earlier in the day, Heckert said, “Right now, an endorsement from the administration we have in Charleston is the kiss of death.”
The emulation of Donald Trump
A local political analyst weighed in on the weight of endorsements.
“It depends,” said Marybeth Beller, associate professor of political science at Marshall University. “Most voters follow the national elections and sometimes state elections, but generally only the four-year elections [are followed] when we’re electing an executive. A mid-term election isn’t followed closely by a lot of people.”
Mid-term voters unfamiliar with a particular candidate, Beller explained, may look to a known quantity for recommendations.
“They’ll look to organizations that they’re familiar with and trust,” Beller said. “They might look to a leader who has coattails, and say, ‘I don’t know this particular candidate, and I don’t really know that much about the office, but if Person X or Organization X endorses them, then they must be good, and so they have my vote.’”
“In those cases, it can help,” Beller added.
“With respect to Gov. Morrisey, he’s relying on his [own] coattails, but particularly the coattails of President Trump,” Beller said. “He follows Trump’s behavior very closely and tries to emulate that on a state level.”
Beller called Morrisey’s endorsement of primary candidates “extraordinary,” noting that, “It is not something that has traditionally been done.”
“Republicans, like all parties, duke it out for the primary, but then everybody gets in line and sings ‘Cumbaya,’ and they follow the leader,” Beller continued. “President Trump has completely broken that in many ways and openly threatens elected members of his party when they don’t tow his policy-preferential line. He makes no secret of saying, ‘I’m going to primary you.’”
“Gov. Morrisey really works — I believe — very hard on several levels to emulate the behavior and the policies of President Trump,” Beller added.
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