Published: May 14, 2008 01:48 am         

McNeely, Caldwell close in Senate 10th

With 108 of 109 pre-cincts reporting James W. “Jim” McNeely was winning the Democratic primary over Anita Skeens Caldwell in the race to represent the 10th District in the West Virginia Senate.

The district is comprised of the southern and eastern portion of Mercer County, all of Greenbrier, Monroe and Summers counties and the eastern portion of Fayette County.

McNeely, a former Summers County prosecutor, had received 51 percent of the vote, with 10,123 ballots cast in his favor.

Caldwell, a former Princeton mayor and state senator, was trailing closely with 9,198 (or 48 percent) of the votes.

According to unofficial results, McNeely won Summers with 1,692 votes to Caldwell’s 1,632; Monroe with 1,698 to Caldwell’s 900; and Greenbrier with 4,557 to Caldwell’s 2,270.

Caldwell won Fayette County’s two precincts with 140 votes to McNeely’s 127. In her home county of Mercer, Caldwell was leading with 4,256 votes to McNeely’s 2,049 with 38 of 39 precincts reporting.

Citing respect for his opponent and the fact that one Mercer County precinct had not been counted, McNeely declined to make a statement until after all votes had been tallied.

McNeely, a 61-year-old who has practiced law for more than 20 years, lives near Peterstown in Monroe County. He retired as prosecuting attorney of Summers County in 2007, a position to which he was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. Prior to receiving his law degree, he worked as an elementary school teacher and as community development director and city police judge for Princeton.

Though a win would give him his first senate seat, it wouldn’t be his first legislative experience. McNeely was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974, at the age of 27, and was elected to four terms in the House of Delegates during the 1970s and ’80s to represent, at various times, Mercer, Summers, Monroe and part of Wyoming counties in the former 19th and 20th Districts.

His committee assignments included Judiciary and Education Committees, and he served as the chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Education Committee.

Caldwell also has legislative experience, having served in the Senate from 2000-2004, where her committee assignments included education, interstate cooperation, judiciary, military, transportation and enrolled bills. She has served the Mercer County school system for 40 years, has operated various business ventures and also served on the city council from 1993 to 2000.

The winner of the race will face Republican incumbent Donald T. Caruth in November for the district’s only open seat. Caruth ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

The remaining seat is held by Republican Senator Jesse O. Guills.

— E-mail: bnaudrey@register-herald.com