The West Virginia governor's decisions are on opposite sides of the abortion debate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia residents will choose Tuesday between a Republican gubernatorial candidate backed by former President Donald Trump, who defended abortion restrictions in court, and a Democratic mayor who fought to put the issue on the ballot Voters decide.

Both Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams have played outsized roles in combating the drug crisis in the state, which has the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the nation. But their similarities are slight.

When it comes to abortion, the two couldn't be more different.

Since being elected attorney general in 2012, Morrisey, 56, has litigated against opioid manufacturers and distributors and raised about $1 billion to ease the crisis that has left 6,000 children in foster care in a state with around 1.8 million inhabitants live.

A self-described “conservative warrior,” Morrisey has also used his role to provide leadership on issues important to the national Republican party. That includes defending a law that bans transgender youth from participating in sports and a scholarship program passed by the Legislature that would encourage parents to take their children out of traditional public school and enroll them in private education or home schooling.

Key to his candidacy was his role in defending a near-total abortion ban passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2022 and in taking the court to restrict West Virginia residents' access to abortion pills.

In a statement after a U.S. District Court judge blocked access to abortion pills in 2023, Morrisey vowed to “always stand strong for the life of the unborn.”

Former Huntington city manager and House member Williams, 60, has worked to transform his city from the “epicenter of America's heroin epidemic” to a city known for solutions to support people with substance use disorders.

After being elected mayor in 2012, he established the state's first citywide drug control policy office and created a strategic plan that included equipping first responders with the opioid overdose drug naloxone and establishing court diversion programs for sex workers and drug users.

Abortion was a central part of his campaign platform. Earlier this year, Williams collected thousands of signatures on a petition to urge lawmakers to vote to put abortion on the ballot.

West Virginia is one of them 25 states The do not allow citizens' initiatives or constitutional amendments through a statewide vote, a route of direct democracy that has allowed voters in several states over the past two years to bypass their legislatures and uphold abortion and other reproductive rights.

Republicans have repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​putting an abortion rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only the legislature can take.

Republican leadership has pointed to a 2018 vote in which nearly 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there was no right to access to abortion in the state. But Williams said the vote also had to do with federal funding of abortion, which someone could object to without completely eliminating access.

In Charleston on Tuesday, first-time voter Candace Morris said abortion was the most important issue for her in deciding who to support in the race. She decided to support Williams.

“I just don’t think it’s right for the government to control women’s reproductive rights,” said Morris, a 19-year-old student studying social work at the historically black West Virginia State University. “I don’t want to have to leave the state to get an abortion if I need one. I just don’t think it’s right, especially for lower class people with no means.”

William Harmon, a Hurricane retiree, said he supports Morrisey because he likes what he accomplished as attorney general. “I think he will defend us very well,” he said.

Harmon said Democrat Steve Williams “really didn't seem to be very active until the last two weeks before the election.”

“I don’t think anyone outside of Huntington really knows him well,” he said.

Kristen Greene, an elementary school teacher from Charleston, said she is a Christian registered Republican who is vehemently opposed to abortion. She considers it one of her biggest issues when it comes to deciding who to vote for, she said.

However, Greene said there was no way she could support Morrisey for governor. When school staff and teachers in West Virginia went on strike in 2018, Morrisey said the strike was illegal and that he would go to court to try to force the workers back to work.

“I don’t trust that he has the teachers’ best interests at heart,” she said. “He didn’t support the teachers. Does he expect the teachers to support him?”

Greene, who previously lived in Huntington, said she was a “big fan” of Williams and the work he did as mayor.

“I stand behind him,” she said.

If elected, Morrisey would be only the third Republican elected governor of West Virginia for the first time since 1928. Outgoing two-term governor Jim Justice, now a Republican, was first elected as a Democrat in 2016. Months later, he switched parties at the Trump rally.

Polls statewide open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m