1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

The 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996 to elect the Governor of West Virginia. Republican Cecil Underwood, who had previously been the Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, defeated Democratic State Senator Charlotte Pritt. Concurrently, the state voted the opposite way federally, choosing Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee, incumbent Bill Clinton over Republican nominee Bob Dole in the Presidential election that year.

Pritt was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. This was the last election in which a Republican was elected Governor of West Virginia until 2020. Former Republican Jim Justice was elected in the 2016 election as a Democrat and later switched back to the Republican Party seven months into his term, making him the first Republican governor since 2001 when Underwood left office. As of 2023, this is the last time that the winning Republican gubernatorial nominee was not an incumbent Governor of West Virginia.

Candidates

 * Charlotte Pritt, former State Senator from Charleston and candidate for Governor in 1992
 * Joe Manchin III, State Senator from Fairmont
 * Jim Lees, attorney
 * Larrie Bailey, former State Treasurer
 * Bobbie Edward Myers
 * Lyle Sattes
 * Bob Henry Baber
 * Louis J. Davis
 * Frank Rochetti
 * Richard E. Moon
 * Fred Schell

Candidates

 * Cecil Underwood, Former Governor and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960
 * Jon McBride, Retired Astronaut, Navy Veteran, and Businessman
 * David McKinley, Former State Delegate, and Former State Party Chair