Death threats, witchcraft, and bigotry, oh my; Berkeley GOP candidate’s racist comments promise another ugly House race

By Matthew Young, BBG

A bizarre series of controversies ranging from accusations of witchcraft and antisemitism to terroristic murder plots has plagued Legislative House District 91 in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle since 2024. And with this week’s uproar surrounding racially charged comments made by Republican candidate Chris Clagett, those controversies seem poised to continue unabated. 

The word of the day is ‘courage’

House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, on Monday, took to Facebook, calling out overtly racist and prejudicial comments made by Clagett during a January 4 interaction on the social media platform, “X,” with a user who identified himself as a Reverend. 

During the interaction, Clagett posted, “Maybe because Black women are the most ill-mannered, ill-behaved, loud-mouthed demographics on the face of the Earth. Does that clarify it for you…Revvvrend?”

In his post reacting to Clagett’s comments, Hornbuckle wrote, “This is beyond ‘politics.’”

“You don’t have to be political to recognize evil when you see it.”

Former Police Captain Hank Dial

“This spits in the face of West Virginia…the state that was created by literally separating from slavery and the worst behavior we’ve seen in our country,” Hornbuckle added, before posting a second time to quote former Police Captain Hank Dial: “You don’t have to be political to recognize evil when you see it.”

However, the comments made in January were not the only racially charged posts Clagett made on social media. In April 2023, Clagett wrote, “I want to announce that I now identify as Trans…racial, that is.”

“A penance for my heretofore undeserved status as a privileged white male, I now identify as a Black man,” Clagett continued. “May the police hunt me down. I invite any person of color, whether cis-man or trans-man, to take my privileged place in compensation for the centuries of oppression that my forebear (from wealthy landowners to poor cracker farmer) may or may not have committed against the people-of-color of the world.”

House District 91 encompasses portions of southern Berkeley County, including areas such as Inwood, Gerrardstown, and Bunker Hill. Clagett listed his address in Hedgesville when filing his candidacy. 

“May you have all the joys of white privelege.”

Chris Clagett, Republican nominee for House of Delegates

“May you have all the joys of white privilege,” Clagett added in his post. “You will be the butt of all media jokes. All the evils of the world will be laid at your feet. Bobble heads on media talk shows will vilify you. Government will discriminate against you. Corporate America will discriminate against you. Your future is glorious! Please, take it off my hands.”

A veteran of the United States Navy, Clagett is a medical doctor, specializing in public health and general preventative medicine. Clagett, who will appear on November’s ballot as the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates, will face Democrat David Michaels.

In an interview with the eastern panhandle’s WRNR-TV on Monday, Clagett addressed the social media comments,  saying, “It does represent me poorly.”

“If I had been more accurate, I should have put ‘liberal’ Black women in there and described it that way,” Glagett continued. “The truth is that the ‘awfuls’ – white female liberals – are just as bad. So really we’re talking about a world view, and the behaviors that go with it.” 

“The post applies accurately to a wide segment of that demographic,” Clagett added. 

‘These statements are abhorrent and should receive universal condemnation’

In a Tuesday press release, the West Virginia Democratic Party (WVDP) called upon Clagett to suspend his candidacy and withdraw from the race for District 91. WVDP Chair Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said, “These statements are abhorrent and should receive universal condemnation.”

“I am calling on Speaker (Roger) Hanshaw (R-Clay) and Chairman Holstein to say clearly and publicly whether they repudiate Clagett for his racist, divisive language,” Pushkin added. “West Virginians deserve to know where their leaders stand when statements like these are made by someone seeking public office.”

Although Chairman Josh Holstein, R-Boone, has not responded publicly, House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, did. Taking to X, Hanshaw stated that “The culture that we seek to perpetuate in the House of Delegates doesn’t condone that kind of bigotry or hatred. We’re not going to tolerate it.”

While speaking with BBG on Tuesday evening, Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia – the only Black, female delegate in West Virginia’s 100-member House of Delegates – said she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to respond to Clagett’s comments.

“Being the only African American woman in the Legislature, I have been traveling extensively,” Hamilton noted. “I just came back from a childhood-early education conference in Denver. Right now I am in Loudoun County (Virginia) at a data center conference. I’m trying to learn the most that I can to be the best representative, not only for my constituents, but for West Virginia. I’m about governing our state properly, and making sure we have the best representation.”

“I don’t know [Clagett], and his comments are his perspective,” Hamilton added. “However, obviously he has not seen the latest data which shows African American women are the most educated demographic. It’s awful that he would speak in that manner toward Black women, but it isn’t surprising to me. Does it affect me? Absolutely not. What is surprising is that a year ago, the Republican party came after me over their misinterpretation of a post I made concerning Charlie Kirk.”

Hamilton cited a social media post she made after the murder of podcaster Charlie Kirk, in which she referenced Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian-refugee who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina last summer. In the post, Hamilton wrote, “You can murder one woman on a train by stabbing her in the neck and be condemned by the masses or you can travel the nation spewing hatred and racist, harming thousands and be loved by the masses…and both have the same outcome.”

 “The leader of the Republican Executive Committee – Holstein – called for my expulsion,” Hamilton explained. “They tried to get me expelled out of the Legislature. What’s interesting to me is that I have not heard two words from any of them [regarding Clagett’s comments]. I haven’t seen any letter written and I haven’t seen anything posted.”

Hamilton did note that Hanshaw commented on the situation, and thanked him for doing so. 

“For me, when these types of instances happen, you don’t always look at the individual making the comments, you look at those around them,” Hamilton noted. “You look at those around them – who responds, how they respond, and the writing is on the wall. What I can say is that as a Black woman in West Virginia, I will continue to stand strong, continue to be a strong representation of what we are, and what we continue to be.” 

“I don’t have the time to attend to every person who wants to spew out racism and bigotry, because we all know it’s alive and well.”

Del. Anitra Hamilton, West Virginia’s only Black, female lawmaker.

“We have carried the struggles, and we continue to manage our households,” Hamilton said. “I just don’t have the time, which is why I have not made a post about it. I don’t have time to attend to every person who wants to spew out racism and bigotry, because we know it’s alive and well.”

“However, we are stronger than that,” Hamilton added.

‘God called him to kill’

Currently, House District 91 is occupied by Del. Ian Masters, R-Berkeley. He was appointed to the seat by Gov. Patrick Morrisey in January 2025, after Delegate-elect Joseph de Soto was expelled from the House of Delegates. 

De Soto, who was elected to the House as the Republican nominee in the 2024 General Election, was arrested on the morning of December 11, 2024, after allegedly being told by God to kill several other Republican House members, including Michael Hite, Chuck Horst, Wayne Clark, and Joe Funkhouser. De Soto also made death threats aimed at Speaker Hanshaw, Majority Leader Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, and Del. Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson. Additionally, de Soto reportedly accused former Delegate – a now deceased – Larry Kump’s wife of practicing witchcraft, after a falling out related to de Soto’s campaign.

“They can all go to hell, I will send them there as commanded,” de Soto wrote in a December email. At the time of his arrest, de Soto reportedly told members of the WV State Police that “God called him to kill them.”

In June of last year, Kyle Vass and Austin Siford released an article, through the ACLU’s “Dragline” publication, titled “The Fantastic Life of Dr. Joseph de Soto: False Claims Made by the Presumptive Delegate in West Virginia’s 91st District.”  

de Soto’s claims ranged from severely exaggerating the length, scope, and combat status of his incredibly brief and uneventful military career, to claiming to have provided free healthcare to hundreds of people, despite not being licensed to practice medicine in any state in the country. And while the GOP seemingly turned a blind-eye to these claims before the election, Republican House members acted swiftly after de Soto’s threats to vote him out of the party. 

Immediately following his expulsion from the WV Republican Party, de Soto registered as a Democrat, prompting what has become a now two-year-long legal battle. The State Democratic Party has challenged Morrisey’s legal ability to appoint a Republican replacement to the seat, as de Soto was a registered Democrat at the time of his expulsion. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals heard the case on Tuesday, however an opinion has not yet been released. Masters, for his part, has chosen not to seek election in 2026.

Republican woes across the electoral map

As if de Soto and Clagett’s complications weren’t enough for the GOP, Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette – a now former teacher in the Fayette County School System – resigned last month over allegations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Pritt, a former registered Communist, was elected as a Democrat in 2024 before rebranding himself as a Republican shortly after being elected. Pritt’s election was all but guaranteed after Republican incumbent Austin Haynes was accused of trading votes for sex with female lobbyists. At present, Elliott Pritt remains incarcerated in a Kentucky penitentiary.  

Read more about the situation regarding former Del. Eliott Pritt in BBG’s previous reporting

For point of reference, the State Republican Party opted to close their Primary Elections to non-Republicans in 2026, meaning registered Independents were barred from voting to select a Republican nominee.

It remains to be seen if the House of Delegates will take action against Clagett, or if this string of controversies will negatively impact West Virginia Republicans in the upcoming elections. 

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. The last day to register to vote in West Virginia is Wednesday, October 21. BBG will provide continuous updates throughout the 2026 election cycle.