West Virginia State House District 74

Current seat holder: Guy Ward (Republican).

Frankie Delapas

Frankie Delapas is a Fairmont, West Virginia, native and Democratic candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates District 74. Delapas first ran for the seat in 2024, when he challenged Republican Mike DeVault. He received 2,333 votes, or 27.95%, in that general election. Delapas is a graduate of Fairmont State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While a student, he served as president of Fairmont State’s Student Government Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped organize community service projects, including a Christmas program that raised more than $13,000 for children in Marion County. He later earned a master’s degree and has worked at Fairmont State as a professional advisor and academic success coordinator. Delapas is also a co-owner of Poplar Island Pumpkins, a family business in Fairmont. He is running again for District 74 in 2026 and is the Democratic nominee on the November ballot.

“As a younger person in West Virginia, I have to admit it is challenging to find a decent paying job and match that with the cost of living,” (yahoo.com)
“We need to make more steps like paying our teachers more, so they'll stay in the state of West Virginia instead of getting a higher paying job in Maryland or Pennsylvania.” (yahoo.com)

Guy Ward

Guy Ward is the Republican candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 74 in Marion County. Ward was born and raised in Grafton and graduated from Grafton High School in 1974 before attending Fairmont State College, where he earned an associate of applied science degree. He worked for more than 33 years as a material analyst for FirstEnergy before retiring in 2011. Ward began his career in public service on the White Hall Town Council in 1997. He later served on the Marion County Commission and was elected mayor of White Hall in 2013, a position he held until 2019. Ward was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. During his previous legislative service, he served on committees including Energy, Government Organization, Health and Human Resources, Small Business, Industry and Labor, and Fire Departments and EMS. After former Del. Mike DeVault resigned in January 2026, Gov. Patrick Morrisey appointed Ward to represent District 74 . Ward is now seeking election to the seat.

Campaign site

“Both history and contemporary data show that countries prosper more when there are stable and dependable rules, under which people can make investments without having to fear government intervention. Our founders based our system of government upon a free market. Because of their wisdom, our country has evolved into the richest nation the world has ever known. It's this principle that Delegate Ward followed to help build a strong economy, not only in White Hall where he was mayor for six years, but for all of West Virginia.” (Guy Ward Campaign Website)
“At the end of the fiscal year in June of 2018, we had a budget surplus of 36 million dollars. On September 4th of 2018, the Governor announced that the General Revenue Fund Collections were 65.8 million dollars above estimates. This is the first time the State had finished in the black, without a budget cut, since 2012. It is also the largest revenue growth since 2011.” (Guy Ward Campaign Website)
“Because of increased revenue, we also have had larger budgets in recent years and there were no cuts to higher education for the first time in a long time in 2018. As a matter of fact, Delegate Ward and the Republican controlled legislature gave higher education a big raise that year to help cover the 5% wage increase for employees.” (Guy Ward Campaign Website)