Last weekend, “No Kings” protests broke out in a dozen communities across the state, all opposing policies of the Trump administration. Hundreds turned out, ranging from young radicals to moderate veterans.
Among them was Chris Balladares, who is acting on his frustrations by running for office for the first time as a Democrat in West Virginia.
But political discontent isn’t just limited to one party. Within Republican ranks, divisions are opening over issues like the national debt, Medicaid and the conflict between Iran and Israel. Here in West Virginia, not every Republican is happy with the status quo, either.
With seven months until the filing deadline for the 2026 elections close, West Virginians on both sides of the aisle are stepping forward and running for office for the first time.
Most of that new blood is on the Democrat side of the ticket, where 27 people so far have filed to run, nearly double the number at this point in the last election cycle. Roughly half of them have never run for office.
More than 100 Republicans have filed so far, mostly incumbents. However, at least four people are challenging sitting incumbents in the primary, all in races that did not have a primary challenge in 2024.
Here’s why a few of those West Virginians have decided to run for the very first time:
A sailor
Danyon Foster, a naval reservist and a postal worker, is running as a Democrat for the House 75th District, which encompasses the Fairmont area.
Sitting in an apartment in Japan, where he is training for the reserves, Foster said he’s been a life-long independent, who leans a little conservative.
“I’ve always considered myself a John McCain Republican,” he said. “But I feel like the Republicans have drifted away from that.”
But it wasn’t just the rightward shift in Republican politics that pushed him to run. It was when the state Legislature passed a bill this year that would allow lawmakers to make policy decisions for public schools, despite West Virginia voters rejecting that in a 2022 referendum.
“If I say no to the bill, and the American people say no to the bill, and then two and a half years later, you say we’re going to do it anyways, then what was the point of voting?” he said. “That’s why I’m running.”
A refugee
In the 1980s, Chris Balladares and his family fled from Nicaragua to the United States to escape a bloody civil war.
Balladares’ family settled in New Jersey. When he was 19, he moved to the Kanawha County area, which he has made his home.
While Ballardares has always had a passing interest in politics, he said he got involved after he attended protests against the Trump administration around the Charleston area.
“Honestly, it’s time to say enough is enough,” Balladares said.
Balladares is running as a Democrat in House District 60, which encompasses parts of Dunbar and Sissonville.
With federal immigration officers snatching people off the streets, some who were here legally in the country, Balladares said he hopes his campaign will show people that migrants aren’t a threat.
“Just because I was born in another country and I have different manners or a slight accent, does not mean that I am any worse or any better than you,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that I’m here to do any harm.”
A college student
Glenville State student Samantha Tanner is running as a Democrat against one of the most powerful men in West Virginia politics, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw of Clay County.
“Technically, I should be afraid of him, but here I am,” Tanner said. “I would stand up to the biggest of them if it meant taking care of my people, and my people include all West Virginians.”
Tanner didn’t wake up one day and decide to run for office. She said the wheels for her run began to turn when her father sent her to the drug store with $20 and his Medicare card to pick up a couple prescriptions.
The drugs came up to almost $1,000. New changes in Medicare required her father to spend $2,000 before his benefits would kick-in.
Later on, at a Charleston protest, Tanner said she heard state Democratic Chairman Mike Pushkin talk about why people should run for office.
“Once I heard Mike speak, I knew in my head, here’s all these excuses, never a solution. No one else wants to do it. I’m going to have to do it,” she said.
A justice reformer
For years, Kenny Matthews struggled with drug addiction and poverty, which led him to doing a couple stints in prison.
Today, Matthews advocates for prison and criminal justice reform. During the state’s 60-day legislative session, he tries to persuade lawmakers to pursue rehabilitative policies.
Matthews is running in the Republican primary for state Senate District 4, which covers Putnam and Mason counties, as well as portions of Cabell and Jackson.
Matthews said there’s not many people like him in politics.
“I want more people like me that have justice involvement or have a history of dealing with substance use disorder to come to the table, and be a voice and be proactive in the issues that our state faces,” he said.
While Putnam County near I-64 is quite affluent, Matthews noted there’s other communities in District 4 that are struggling.
“I think I’m suited to understand and represent not only the people who have worked to advance themselves and their family, but I also know what it’s like to struggle and wonder do I feed my family, or do I keep the lights on?” he said.
A housewife
Bobbie Jo Hylton is a mother, a grandmother and a homemaker. A life-long Republican, Hylton said while she’s kept herself abreast of politics, she didn’t get directly involved until three years ago.
That’s when she started West Virginia Concerned Citizens, a conservative group that lobbies at the West Virginia Legislature.
Hylton said the main issues that pushed her to become active were high utility bills, issues in the child protective service system and lack of quality health care.
“I kind of just got aggravated with everything, and thought, I’m a nobody, but this nobody’s going to try to do something and help people out,” Hylton said.
Hylton said she decided to take the next step and run in the Republican primary for House District 44, which represents Beckley, after seeing the Legislature fail to pass a bill that would add religious exemption to vaccine mandates and another that would freeze electricity hikes.
“We need to do. That’s my problem with them right now,” Hylton said. “Quit talking and do it.”
Candidates filing for office have until Jan. 31, 2026 to do so. People filing before Jan. 12, 2026, are pre-candidate filing, which gives them a longer opportunity to raise money.
But even though first-time candidates are getting to it earlier this year compared to the last election, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Electoral politics favors the incumbent.
Right now, the Republican side of the ticket has raised more than $100,000 – the Democrats are hovering around $1,000.