Current seat holder: Tresa Howell (Republican).
Joyce Brown is a West Virginia native. Brown has been mostly running her campaign through her Facebook page. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management from West Virginia Institute of Technology. Brown has been employed as a housing counselor for Community Works West Virginia since 2023. She is a member of the Watershed Association and volunteers at Montgomery Hospital. Brown has been endorsed by Communication Workers of America Districts 2-13 and the AFL-CIO West Virginia. This is Brown’s first time running for a state office. Brown’s priorities include working for the community and ensuring more rural areas’ problems are addressed. Brown says she wants to bring clean water throughout the state and help bring down medical costs. She won the primary over Michelle Harper and Seth Adkins when she received 39.6% of the vote. Brown will face the incumbent Tresa Howell in the general election on Nov. 3.
Tresa Howell is from Charleston, West Virginia. Howell attended and graduated from East Bank High School. She graduated from the University of Charleston in 1998 with a degree in nursing; she is a first-generation college graduate. Howell has worked as a nurse in critical care, outpatient surgery and community health. She currently serves as the delegate for House of Delegates District 52. Howell is in her first term in the House of Delegates. She served as the chairwoman of the Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee from 2018-2022. Her priorities include expanding business and the economy, and she says she wants to support seniors by decreasing or eliminating their taxes. Howell says she also wants to invest in programs that support veterans. She ran unopposed in the primary, and she will face Democrat Joyce Brown in the general election on Nov. 3.