Rusty Bunner loads a voting machine into a rack after it was returned Tuesday evening at the Wood County Courthouse. The first precinct returned at 7:55 p.m. to the courthouse. (Photo by Jeff Baughan)
By: Jeff Baughan, Reporter | Posted: May 9, 2018 | Source: Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — Vienna City Council member and Parkersburg attorney Jim Leach will face Republican incumbent Michael Azinger in the West Virginia Senate District 3 race in November.
Leach pulled away slowly throughout the primary election evening Tuesday against Democrat opponent Simon Hargus.
With all precincts reporting Leach recorded a 3,631 votes to 2,975 votes win over Hargus, who made a strong showing in his first bid for an elected office. The 3rd District is comprised of Wood, Pleasants, Wirt and part of Roane County.
Azinger ran unopposed for the Republican nomination and received 6,337 votes.
Leach said with the win his message will stay the same to the people, “and that is build the economy for West Virginia. We have a real opportunity in West Virginia if we use our resources for our people. We shouldn’t let our resources leave the state as we do. I think my message has been resonating with the people in this area. We make the right choices, we have a great opportunity.”
Leach congratulated Hargus by saying, “He ran a fantastic race and I have a lot of respect for that.”
Hargus concurred. “Jim and I were able to keep the campaigns positive,” Hargus said. “We didn’t always agree but we kept it complimentary. I was proud of the way Jim handled the campaign. Together we showed politics can be constructive instead of destructive. I think more people would get involved in politics if we could keep it classy like we did.”
Concerning his place on the Vienna City Council, Leach said “as far as I know, I can continue to serve council. I made the commitment to the people of Vienna to serve on council and I intend to honor that commitment.”
Hargus said he would again be a candidate in the future and will be “heavily active in Democratic politics in Wood County and do so with community service the year round and not just around election time.”
