WV Republican Party moves to disavow Pritt after arrest; first time in state’s party history 

The executive committee of the West Virginia Republican Party is moving to disavow Del. Elliott Pritt from the party following his arrest for enticing a child and having a sexual relationship with the minor. 

This is the first time in the state’s party history that members have made this type of formal move to reject a member from the party.

Tony Hodge, secretary of the West Virginia Republican Party, said the decision “expresses how seriously we take this.”

“So far, over 80 members of the state Executive Committee have signed on to this letter without hesitation. The allegations against Del. Pritt reach far deeper than a political disagreement or policy dispute. They describe the sustained exploitation of a child. There is no ambiguity in our values here,” Hodge said.

The party executive committee has submitted their request to Josh Holstein, who chairs the party. It would disavow Pritt, 36, as a Republican candidate and representative of the West Virginia Republican Party.

Pritt, R-Fayette, was arrested on Wednesday in Oak Hill and charged with enticement of a minor as a federal crime. 

According to a criminal complaint, the family of a 15-year-old female reported that the child had been sexually abused by Pritt. 

Pritt, a public school teacher, communicated with the girl online through Roblox and Snapchat before asking her to meet him in his classroom at Oak Hill High School to engage in sexual activity, which occurred on five to 10 occasions, according to the complaint.

The state Republican State Executive Committee said that the criminal complaint against Pritt described “a sustained pattern of grooming and sexual exploitation of a child beginning when she was in the eighth grade.”

“We believe these allegations, as detailed in the federal filing, provide clear evidence of

behavior that is excessively immoral and illegal and that is unbecoming of a representative of the Republican Party within the meaning of Article XIV(b),” the executive committee wrote in a letter. 

“The West Virginia Republican Party will not extend our name, our support, or our silence to protect anyone facing federal charges of this kind, regardless of their office or their party registration. We expect Del. Pritt to resign immediately. If he does not, we expect the House of Delegates to act in short order,” Hodge said.

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, the state Republican party and many lawmakers have called on Pritt to resign, who is being held at Carter County Detention Center in Kentucky. He is expected in federal court on Monday afternoon.

Should Pritt not resign, Hanshaw has already asked Gov. Patrick Morrisey to call lawmakers into a special session for members to vote on expelling Pritt. 

On Saturday, Morrisey posted on social media that, “The allegations against Delegate Pritt are truly heinous at a level that’s hard to imagine. If even slightly true, they should disqualify him from ever being around kids again. No person who did such things should be in public office or teach our kids.”

“I will be conferring with House and Senate leadership in the upcoming days so that I can set an appropriate date for a special session, if the Delegate doesn’t resign first,” the governor said. 

Hanshaw has removed Pritt from any official duties in the House, including his role as assistant majority leader.

Pritt was first elected as a Democrat to the House in 2022. He switched to the Republican party in 2023.

Pritt also has not removed himself as a candidate on the ballot for the November election in his district. 

It’s likely that Pritt will have to remain on the ballot in Fayette County due to a 2024 Republican-sponsored bill that restricts how the state Republican party can deal with Pritt’s seat ahead of the election. The legislation prohibits political parties from replacing a nominee late in the election process.

“Should the seat become vacant, by whatever means, the party will follow the usual process for filling a vacancy outlined in WV Code §3-10-5 governed by state law and the bylaws of the West Virginia Republican Party,” Holstein previously told West Virginia Watch. “As for ballot replacement, the WVGOP will release details at a later date.”

The Democratic challenger in the race is Matthew Anderson, a special education teacher in Fayette County.