PAC linked to Senate President Smith spends against Democrats challenging ‘Team Randy’ members

Three weeks ahead of Election Day, a political action committee linked to Senate President Randy Smith is spending big opposing two Democratic candidates who could knock off two Republican members of “Team Randy.”

The Senate is in a precarious place after a divisive Senate president race, where Smith, R-Preston, won a competitive caucus vote in 2024 that split the upper chamber into clear factions. The contentious May Republican primary didn’t help the matter.

Republicans hold all but two seats in the Senate. 

Smith, a former coal miner, said he will run for reelection for the role that makes him second-in-line to governor. His path to victory could be reliant on Nov. 3 election results. 

Mountaineer Conservative Action, a political action committee tied to Smith, spent around $105,000 at the beginning of October opposing Democratic Senate candidates Shawn Fluharty and Richie Robb. The information was obtained through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s online campaign filing system. Mountain Conservative Action lists a P.O. box in Morgantown as its address.

Smith declined an interview for this story.

Fluharty, a current House of Delegates member, is running a competitive challenge to incumbent Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio in the Northern Panhandle. Pollsters have flagged the seat as one that could flip to blue this November. 

Mountaineer Conservative Action recently circulated a mailer against Fluharty, saying he was the wrong choice for Wheeling. The group has spent around $55,000 against Fluharty at this time.

Fluharty said the move was “expected.”

“They want puppets in Charleston to push their fringe agenda that has resulted in one of the worst economic performances in the country. That’s why I have been supported by both business and labor, recently receiving Chamber of Commerce support,” Fluharty said. “Meanwhile, they sit on the fringe, trying to divide people so that they are distracted from the fact that those in power can’t govern. I’m nobody’s puppet. I believe in merit-based elections on actual policy, they push their own dark money DEI candidates. Sad!” 

Chapman has held the seat since 2022. She did not respond to interview requests for this story. 

She left Senate leadership in January, resigning from her position as Senate Health Committee chair due to conflict with Smith and his agenda. In May, Chapman told West Virginia Watch that she believed Smith had done a fine job in the role. 

Mountaineer Conservative Action has spent $50,000 so far opposing Richie Robb, a Democrat challenging Sen. Ann Charnock, R-Kanawha. Charnock was appointed last year by Gov. Patrick Morrisey to the Senate seat; this election is for the seat’s unexpired term. 

Charnock declined an interview request in a text message. She was tapped by Smith to serve as chair of the Committee on Confirmation. 

Robb, former mayor of South Charleston, said money coming from PACs like Mountaineer Conservative Action can “distort the election.”

“Whether they’re attacking someone like me, or they’re promoting someone else, there’s a lot of generalities without specifics,” he said. “I think it’s generally done to reach a sort of a visceral response from certain voters.”

Groups like Mountaineer Conservative Coalition, another PAC linked to Smith, and PACs linked to Morrisey unusually spent millions of dollars in the May primary to influence statehouse races for Republicans.

“We’ve got plenty of needs out there and political issues to talk about instead of your superficial, knee-jerk type influencing type ads that are in many respects pretty silly,” Robb said. “I’ll just grin and bear them for the next couple of weeks.”

Senate president nomination to be held in December 

The Senate president’s nomination process will occur in December within the Republican caucus ahead of the 2027 legislative session. 

Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, said he expects Smith to maintain his power position with his number of backers in the Senate. Taylor is on “Team Randy.”

“He’s a good friend, and he’s a good leader, and I’m looking forward to what we can do for the future of West Virginia,” Taylor said when reached by phone. 

Taylor said Smith and others have begun working on the Senate’s agenda for the 2027 legislative session. The public school funding formula, workforce participation and addressing the benefits’ cliff are expected to be key items, according to Taylor. 

“I definitely think (Smith) has been the one to support our ideas that we’re hoping to get across,” Taylor said. 

Political groups linked to Smith were active during the contentious Republican primary in May. 

Mountaineer Conservative Coalition, which MetroNews reporter Brad McElhinny traced to Smith, was behind political messaging against Republican Sen. Tom Takubo.

Takubo, R-Kanawha, had vied for the Senate president position in 2024 against Smith and Sen. Eric. Tarr, R-Putnam. The fallout from that intra-caucus vote made Takubo a de facto leader of the Senate’s other faction, which tends to lean more moderate Republican and regularly opposes Morrisey’s leadership decisions. 

Smith’s team often aligns with Morrisey. 

Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said the current breakdown of Republicans who won in the May primary favors Smith as leader, but Democratic challengers could disrupt those numbers if they’re successful in November.

“If people who have committed to him are beaten in the general election by Democrats, there’s a chance that the Senate presidency is decided on the Senate floor next January,” Garcia said. “I feel very confident that Democratic candidates for state Senate are going to overperform and potentially surprise some people in races in November.”

Garcia is the only guaranteed Democratic senator to return in 2027 — a major shift from the once Democratic stronghold in the state Legislature. The Senate’s other Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, is retiring. 

“Leadership has not paid attention to kitchen table issues and the things that matter most to people’s pocketbooks,” Garcia said. “We need to have accountability and focus towards the issues West Virginians care about, and I hope the next Senate president will take that to heart.”

Early voting in the 2026 general election begins Oct. 21 and ends Oct. 31.