By Patrick Hurston
A third candidate forum has been added to a growing slate of pre-primary events in Hardy County, with the Hardy County Republican Party set to host a “Meet the Candidates” night later this month.
The event is scheduled for Wed., Apr. 16 from 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College and will feature local Republican candidates along with candidates for the Hardy County Board of Education.
According to Hardy County Republican Party Chair Sherri Hof, all local Republican candidates and Board of Education candidates have been invited to participate, though final attendance remains uncertain as RSVPs are still being collected.
In addition to those formally invited, candidates from other races may also attend informally to meet voters.
“There are several other candidates for other positions that have expressed interest and may make an appearance for the chance to meet and shake hands with Hardy County residents,” Hof said in an email.
The format is expected to be relatively casual, with candidates given a brief opportunity to introduce themselves, followed by a question-and-answer session and time for one-on-one conversations with attendees.
Organizers say the goal is to create an accessible environment for voters to engage directly with candidates ahead of the May 12 primary.
“We will have a moderator, but the evening will be pretty informal,” Hof noted, adding that additional details are still being finalized.
The Republican-sponsored event joins two previously announced forums—one hosted by the Hardy County Democratic Executive Committee and another by the Hardy County Chamber of Commerce—as part of what appears to be a more active local election season.
Hof pointed to a range of local and national issues as driving increased interest in this year’s races, including debates over solar development, data centers, large-scale poultry operations, and energy infrastructure projects, along with local funding questions such as the school levy, and broader economic concerns.
“I think people want to get involved and see what, if anything, can be done,” she said.
The forum will also take place in the first election cycle following West Virginia’s shift to closed party primaries, a change that has drawn mixed reactions locally.
Hof acknowledged some frustration among independent and unaffiliated voters but said the move reflects a desire among party members to have greater control over selecting their nominees.
“Unfortunately, I have been told many Independent and Unaffiliated voters are upset at the closed primary,” she said. “I am trying to understand why people are upset since to vote at any club, you must be a member, to pick a team line up, you must be on the team.”
Hof said that in recent years with Republicans having a solid majority, Democrats were switching their party to win.
“By allowing Independent and Unaffiliated to vote in the primary, genuinely conservative Republicans were losing to more liberal candidates. Sure, those voters were voting Republican, but not the type of Republicans we want in leadership roles,” she said.
“My hope is those who are offended by the change will still vote Republican in the general election.”
As with the other forums, organizers say the emphasis will be on voter education by giving residents an opportunity to hear directly from candidates, ask questions, and better understand where they stand on key issues before heading to the polls.
With multiple forums now scheduled across the county, voters will have several chances in the coming weeks to engage with candidates in a more direct, unscripted, and unedited setting ahead of the May 12 primary.
