The West Virginia Republican Party published a press release this afternoon confirming what the WV WASP reported was underway: Ken Reed has been removed from the West Virginia Republican Party's State Executive Committee.
"As a result of the Write-in Candidacy of Ken Reed in the 15th Senatorial District, per the bylaws of the West Virginia Republican Party, Mr. Reed's membership on the West Virginia Republican Party's State Executive Committee has been automatically terminated." -- WVGOP Press Release, September 18, 2026
The WASP published "The Price of a Write-In" before today's announcement, reporting that WVGOP Chairman Josh Holstein had confirmed to the WASP that the party was "currently working on" action against Reed's SEC membership. Today that action became public record.
What the Party Said
The full press release, published on wvgop.org this afternoon, reads in part:
"In the Republican Party, our nominees are chosen by the Republican voters during the primary election. The West Virginia Republican Party stands firmly behind all of our nominees for public office."
"If any member of the West Virginia Republican Party's State Executive Committee or any member of a county executive committee files to run as a write-in candidate against a Republican nominee, regardless of their Republican party registration, they are running against the Republican nominee for that office and are acting in violation of the State Party's Bylaws. Such members will be removed from party office automatically."
The party explicitly broadened the warning beyond Reed: any SEC member or county executive committee member who files as a write-in against a Republican nominee faces the same consequence.
Holstein also offered a brief statement to the WASP. "We are solely focused on winning elections and not interparty fighting," he said. "I have also personally notified Mr. Reed before publication."
The Word That Matters
The party's press release describes Reed's termination as "automatic." That framing is worth examining closely.
Article XIV Section C of the WVGOP bylaws, the provision the party is invoking, applies to members who "provide open and public assistance to a non-Republican candidate." Reed is a registered Republican running as a write-in. The party's press release does not engage with the question of whether a registered Republican running as a write-in qualifies as a "non-Republican candidate" under the bylaw's language. It simply declares the termination automatic and presents the conclusion without the legal analysis.
If Reed chooses to contest the removal, that unanswered legal question is the ground he would stand on. The WASP raised it in our original piece. The party's press release does not answer it.
What This Means for the November Race
Reed's removal from the SEC does not remove him from the November ballot. He filed his write-in paperwork under state election law, which is separate from party membership rules. His write-in candidacy for Senate District 15 against Republican nominee Darren Thorne proceeds regardless of what the party does to his committee membership.
The party can remove him from its governing body. It cannot remove his name from the write-in line in November. Voters in Hampshire, Morgan, and Berkeley Counties will still have the option to write his name on their ballot on November 3.
Reed has said his campaign is about giving voters who were locked out of the closed primary a chance to weigh in. That argument is now being made by a man who has been formally expelled from the party whose primary he argues was unfair.
Whether that makes his argument more compelling or less is a question District 15 voters will answer in November.
The Bigger Picture
The party's press release broadened the warning explicitly to include county executive committee members, not just SEC members. That tells you something about what party leadership expects may happen next. If other write-in candidates face the same consequences, the removals will multiply.
The WASP has been tracking the write-in landscape since the September 15 deadline. Seven write-in candidates filed statewide. Reed is the first to be formally removed from party office as a result. He may not be the last.
The West Virginia Republican Party closed its primary to protect its nominations. Today it closed its governing body to one of the people who fought hardest against that closure.
Ten years is still a long time. 🐝
The WV WASP is a West Virginia political news, humor, and commentary outlet. wvwasp.com | @wvwasp on X.