2016 West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture election
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The 2016 West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture, concurrently with elections for president of the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives, governor, and other state and local elections.
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November 8, 2016
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 County results Leonhardt: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Helmick: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Democratic commissioner Walt Helmick, the only remaining Democratic agriculture commissioner in the United States at the time of the election, lost re-election to Republican state senator Kent Leonhardt in a rematch of the 2012 election for the same office.[1][2] Libertarian candidate Buddy Guthrie received over 10% of the vote, the highest third-party vote share of any single candidate in West Virginia in 2016.[3][4]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Walt Helmick, incumbent agriculture commissioner (2013–present)[5]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Walt Helmick (incumbent) | 194,220 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 194,220 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Kent Leonhardt, state senator from the 2nd district (2014–present) and nominee for agriculture commissioner in 2012[7]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kent Leonhardt | 147,782 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 147,782 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Endorsements
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kent Leonhardt | 321,560 | 48.41 | ||
| Democratic | Walt Helmick (incumbent) | 274,191 | 41.28 | ||
| Libertarian | Buddy Guthrie | 68,502 | 10.31 | ||
| Total votes | 664,253 | 100.00 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||