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(Reporter's Notebook by Steven Allen Adams - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

We’re now in the calm before the Tuesday storm, and I’ve never wanted an election to be over more than this one.

Seriously, this primary election cycle has been pure obnoxiousness, but I fear this may be how future GOP primaries are from here on out: A combination of conservative-on-conservative infighting and out-of-state interests dropping Brinks trucks of cash to test messaging on issues conservatives see differently.

I am not one of those who cries about the amount of money in politics. As I’ve said frequently, elections cost money: Mailers, ads, commercials, billboards, signs, etc., all have price tags. Trust me, the real winners of this GOP primary season won’t be whatever candidates are nominated; it will be the direct mail companies.

I’m also not a real believer that money influences candidates. Donors and political action committees support candidates who already agree with them. The idea that these groups get candidates to flip-flop on issues with independent expenditure on their behalf is largely a creation of Hollywood.

Where I have a problem is with disclosure. While certain political action committees are required to disclose their donations, independent expenditure groups do not legally have to. And they can accept unlimited amounts of money and who knows how much of this funding is from in-state or out-of-state donors.

The Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision many moons ago determined that money equals free speech protected by the First Amendment. I have no issue with this. But depending on who gets elected to the Legislature this year, there definitely does need to be a review of campaign finance regulations.

Then again, the Legislature just passed a dumb bill to remove employer information from future campaign finance reports, making it harder for reporters and the public in general to see what companies and industries have employees donating to candidates and PACs en masse.

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Political candidates and PACs/independent expenditure committees are not supposed to coordinate messaging, though many of us who cover politics assume they probably have some sort of back-channel communications.

But I was amused to hear from more than one person about Charles Hartzog, the Republican opponent of House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, meeting with Gov. Patrick Morrisey and representatives of the West Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity – a Morrisey-affiliated group supporting Hartzog and opposing Criss – at The Pizza Place on Dudley Avenue across from Parkersburg High School last weekend for door knocking.

I was even more amused to hear that Criss himself happened to be picking up food at The Pizza Place at the same time this meeting was happening. That’s not awkward.

Morrisey later posted a photo of The Pizza Place sign on X and said it was a “great day to knock on doors in Wood County.”

Speaking with the Secretary of State’s Office, it’s likely that no election law is being broken by the meeting. But it certainly doesn’t look good.

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I’ve reported about U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito endorsing GOP legislative candidates, many of whom are opposed by Morrisey and Morrisey-affiliated groups, as well as dropping $250,000 into Mountaineer Freedom Alliance to support these candidates. But U.S. Sen. Jim Justice began releasing endorsement videos last week for the same candidates Morrisey opposes.

It seems a bit too-little-to-late given last week being the final week of early voting. Then again, Justice has been a little distracted as of late as he fights once again over unpaid debt on the historic Greenbrier Resort.

I haven’t seen a recent poll, but most previous polling shows Justice continuing to be a popular politician and his two terms as governor continue to be looked upon favorably despite many of the messes state government departments and agencies are continuing to clean up since January 2025.

I know of several ongoing audits of state agencies looking at Justice’s time as governor. I’ve been surprised that the Morrisey administration has not released any of these reports as of yet, though those audits may not yet be wrapped up. I’ve received some hints that these reports will be quite damning.

Is Morrisey keeping his powder dry against Justice on the off-chance Justice may make a long-rumored run for another term as governor in 2028? I’m still not convinced that Justice leaves the U.S. Senate two-thirds of the way through his first six-year term. But as we’ve seen, Justice is made of Teflon, so would bringing up issues during Justice’s tenure as governor hurt him politically?

I can tell you this much: if Morrisey is unable to get many of his slate of candidates through the primary election day on May 12, the 2028 GOP primary period for governor will begin promptly on May 13.