By Patrick Hurston
The May 12 primaries are right around the corner with a crowded field of local, state, and federal candidates on the ballot.
Two local organization are doing their part to ensure Hardy County voters will have an opportunity to hear directly from candidates and ask questions about the issues most important to them this election cycle.
A congressional candidate forum hosted by the Hardy County Democratic Executive Committee, along with a separate community forum organized by the Hardy County Chamber of Commerce, are both aimed at giving residents a more direct line to the people seeking to represent them.
The events, and the number of candidates running, point to what some involved are calling a more active and engaged election season than the county has seen in recent years.
Democratic forum highlights competitive congressional primary
The Hardy County Democrats will host their candidate forum at McCoys Grand Theater in Moorefield on Mon., Apr. 13 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
All three candidates have confirmed their participation, according to Derek Howard, a member of the county’s Democratic Executive Committee. The three candidates are Lost City’s Steven Wendelin, Ace Parsi of Morgantown, and Stephanie Sears Tomana of Idamay. Wendelin also ran in 2024, ultimately losing to Republican Riley Moore. Moore is running uncontested and does not have a primary opponent.
Howard said the decision to host the forum was rooted in a simple goal: give voters direct access to the candidates while keeping the party itself neutral during the primary.
“This is a primary. I feel very strongly that our job as the Executive Committee is to remain neutral and allow the voters, not us, to decide who their party candidate will be,” Howard said. The candidates agree.
“Primaries are where democracy happens,” said Wendelin. “Primaries are incredibly important because once you’re past the primary, then it kind of goes down to bipartisanship at that point and the choice has already been made.” He drew contrast to what the state’s Republican party did earlier this year.
“The Republican Party at the state level just did something that no one can really understand, and they’ve closed their primary,” he noted. “So, on May 12th, if an Independent walks in expecting to get a Republican ballot, they’re going to be turned away. Now, they’ll have to ask for a Democratic ballot, but we want then. We want them to participate. We want their voices to be heard,” he said.
Howard said the format will be relaxed rather than rigid, with each candidate offering opening remarks followed by moderated questions from the audience.
“I envision this more as a conversation,” he said, noting that voters’ questions will make up the bulk of the evening.
The forum comes at a moment when the Democratic Party is seeing an uptick in candidates across the state, something that would have been unlikely just a few years ago.
Howard sees that as part of a broader rebuilding effort.
“I think it shows the party is roaring back to life at the local level,” he said. Tomana agreed.
“There is a great deal of momentum in the party. Not only are Democrats coming out in force up and down the ballot, but we have a record number of women running for office as well.”
For the candidates themselves, the forum offers a chance to move beyond campaign messaging and engage directly with voters.
Tomana said those face-to-face interactions are essential.
“West Virginians deserve a real choice,” Tomana said, adding that forums allow voters “to ask the tough questions and have the courageous conversations.”
“Two-thirds of West Virginians live in rural and unincorporated communities like the one I grew up in, places forgotten by time and ignored by politicians,” she said. “Potholes outnumber paychecks and we’re afraid to drink the water. West Virginians never seem to get a break.”
Wendelin, who has spent much of the campaign traveling across the district, said he’s seen a significant increase in the number of townhalls, turnout, and candidate activity, reflecting what he believes is a notable shift.
“It is absolutely night and day,” he said of the number of events this cycle. He attributes some of this to voters being fed up with the status quo in Charleston and the “chaos” in Washington. In the last cycle, he said, Democrats were full of fear. Now, he says, that fear is replaced by anger.
“Anger is the energy of change. Fear is the energy of hopelessness,” he said. “And I’m seeing more anger than fear now. And that’s huge.”
Both candidates said they hope voters leave the forum with a clearer sense of who they are and what they stand for, with both acknowledging that’s something difficult to capture through campaign ads or social media alone.
Chamber forum focuses on local races
A second forum, organized by the Hardy County Chamber of Commerce, will take place at East Hardy High School on Thurs., Apr. 23 at East Hardy High School from 5:30-7:30 p.m., with a focus on local, nonpartisan races including the Board of Education and Wardensville municipal contests.
Chamber Executive Director Justin Evans said the decision to limit the forum to those races was largely practical.
“We thought it best to limit our event to nonpartisan folks,” Evans said, citing the large number of candidates on the ballot this year.
All candidates were invited to participate, including those running unopposed, such as Wardensville Mayor Betsy Orndoff-Sayers, in an effort to ensure openness and avoid any perception of favoritism.
There are a total of 10 candidates running for three open Board of Education seats, and two candidates for Wardensville town council.
While final details are still being worked out, Evans said the Chamber is leaning toward a town hall-style format.
“We’re going to give the candidates a little bit of time to talk, and then take questions from the audience,” he said.
The Chamber has hosted similar events in past cycles and views them as an important way to connect voters with candidates, particularly in races that often receive less attention.
While the two forums focus on different races, they share a common purpose: giving voters a chance to hear directly from candidates and make more informed decisions before heading to the polls.
That opportunity, organizers and candidates say, is especially important in a year that appears to be drawing more participation than usual.
As Tomana put it, the forums are about building that connection early.
“At the end of the day we’re strangers asking for your trust, and that starts with building relationships at events like these.”
With May 12 approaching, both events offer Hardy County residents a chance to ask questions, hear competing ideas, and get a better sense of the choices in front of them.
