Incarcerated Fayette County delegate resigns seat in House of Delegates; remains on November ballot

By Matthew Young

Elliott Pritt, the now former Fayette County public school teacher and Republican legislative representative – during a court appearance on Monday – waived his right to preliminary and detention hearings, meaning he will remain in federal incarceration. Shortly thereafter, Pritt submitted a letter to Del. Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, the speaker of West Virginia’s House of Delegates. 

“I resign from the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately,” Pritt wrote. 

Pritt has been in the custody of the U.S,. Marshal Service since Wednesday, after allegedly enticing his 15-year-old student into an inappropriate relationship. In addition to being arrested, when news of the charges broke, the West Virginia Department of Education immediately suspended his teaching license, and political leaders from both major parties called for his resignation. Some politicians went so far as to urge Gov. Patrick Morrisey to call for a Special Legislative Session in the hopes of expelling Pritt from House membership. 

On Monday, that request became moot. 

“Good riddance to the terrible former WV Delegate Elliott Pritt,” Morrisey wrote on his Facebook page. “He just resigned.”

While Pritt’s resignation from the House of Delegates has removed him from his position as an elected representative for the residents of Fayette County, a looming question remains: 

What does this mean for the 2026 general election?

According to West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner, Pritt will remain on the November ballot as the Republican nominee. And barring the state GOP’s ability to find a work-around for West Virginia’s current election law, they are powerless to change that. 

“Candidates awaiting trial who have not been convicted of a disqualifying offense remain eligible to seek elected office, assuming no other disqualifier exists, such as no longer residing in the district they seek to represent,” Warner stated in a Monday evening press release. “If a candidate voluntarily withdraws from the ballot, that creates a vacancy that cannot be filled by the candidate’s political party. In that circumstance, the candidate’s political party would not have a nominee for that office on the general election ballot.” 

Warner further explained that the state GOP could only replace Pritt on the ballot if he were officially disqualified. It is highly likely the Republican party will claim that as Pritt will be incarcerated in the State of Kentucky indefinitely, he no longer meets the residency requirements. However, it is doubtful that argument will hold up to legal scrutiny, and the odds of Pritt’s trial concluding before the November election are, at best, slim. 

Seemingly in response to Warner’s statement, Morrisey once again took to social media, stating, “Unfortunately, former Delegate Elliott Pritt (accused of sexually abusing kids) is still on the general election ballot as of now.”

“Let’s hope we can get this degenerate off the ballot right away! We will be pushing for this!” Morrisey added. 

Morrisey still has the option of calling a Special Legislative Session in the hopes that lawmakers (led by the Republican supermajority) will amend the current election law which prevents them from replacing Pritt. If Morrisey chooses not to call for a special session, however, Pritt – regardless of his incarceration, and short of his voluntary removal – will retain his position as the Republican nominee, and will face Democrat Mathew Anderson in November’s general election.