2026Flipped from RepublicanCalledUnofficial resultsIncumbent defeated
2026 election for West Virginia Delegate District 78
West Virginia House of Delegates · West Virginia
Michael Wendell (D) won with 53.8% of the vote, defeating Geno Chiarelli (R) by 7.5 points, flipping a seat Republicans held.
Simple-majority veto override
Michael WendellDemocrat · winner
53.8%3,124
Geno ChiarelliRepublican · incumbent
46.2%2,687
5,811 votes
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State unofficial resultsUpdated Nov 7, 2026, 1:35 PM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2026
The seat's recent races
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Pre-election forecast (final, Nov 3)
Our model's last run before Election Day, Nov 3, 2026. It no longer updates.
- Michael Wendell
- 23%
- Geno Chiarelli
- 77%
- Projected margin
- R+5.4