1986Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
1986 election for West Virginia Senate District 1
West Virginia State Senate · West Virginia
John G. Chernenko (D) won with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Virgil George Thompson (R) by 12.5 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
John G. ChernenkoDemocrat · winner · incumbent
56.2%13,778
Virgil George ThompsonRepublican
43.8%10,718
24,496 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1986
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET