WHEELING, W.Va. — The Ohio County Republican Executive Committee has selected three individuals to be submitted to Governor Patrick Morrisey for consideration to fill the vacant Fourth District seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
The vacancy follows the resignation of Delegate Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, and his subsequent inauguration as a Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. The appointment will fill the remainder of the current House term, which runs until January 13, 2026. The individual appointed to the seat will serve only for the remainder of the unexpired term and will not be eligible to run in the November general election.
Under West Virginia law, when a vacancy occurs in a partisan elected office, the appropriate political party executive committee is responsible for reviewing eligible applicants and submitting three names to the Governor for consideration. The final appointment is made by the Governor of West Virginia.
Four eligible individuals applied for consideration. As part of the process, the West Virginia Republican Party verified the residency and party registration information of each applicant to ensure compliance with the applicable eligibility requirements under West Virginia law.
The eligible applicants were:
David Palmer of Wheeling — Wheeling City Councilman representing the Sixth Ward.
Shane Stack of Triadelphia — Auctioneer.
Jordan Cline of Wheeling — Wheeling Businessman
John Arritt of Wheeling — A Retired Sales Professional
Following interviews and committee deliberation, the Ohio County Republican Executive Committee selected the following three names to submit to Governor Morrisey:
Shane Stack
Jordan Cline
John Arritt
The final appointment will be made and announced by Governor Patrick Morrisey within the next 5 days.
Derek Ennis, the Republican nominee for the Fourth District House of Delegates seat in the November general election, is not eligible for the appointment due to the statutory party registration requirement for appointments to vacancies.
Ennis released the following statement:
“I was a registered independent for a long time and changed my registration in October of 2025. Under West Virginia law, those seeking appointment must have been registered with the Republican Party for 365 days preceding the vacancy. Therefore, I am ineligible for the appointment.”
Ennis remains eligible to serve if elected and will appear as the Republican nominee in the November general election.
The Ohio County Republican Executive Committee thanks all eligible applicants who came forward for consideration and expressed interest in serving the citizens of the Fourth District.
“The Ohio County Republican Executive Committee thanks each of the applicants who came forward and expressed a willingness to serve the people of Ohio County and the Fourth District,” said Ohio County Republican Chairman Bob Luchetti. “This was an important responsibility for the Committee, and we appreciate the time, interest, and commitment shown by each applicant throughout this process. We thank The WVGOP for their assistance with ensuring this process and the candidates were compliant with West Virginia Law, and we now look forward to Governor Morrisey’s final appointment.”
