West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a proclamation last week setting a date for the next governor’s election to be on Oct. 4, fulfilling a requirement by the state Supreme Court of Appeals.
Tomblin on Tuesday also submitted legislation for the state to hold a primary election for governor on June 20.
The state Supreme Court of Appeals ruled last week that an election for governor must be held by Nov. 15, 2011 — exactly one year after former Gov. Joe Manchin resigned from the office.
On the day Manchin resigned, Tomblin, the former Senate president, became acting governor. The job maneuvers raised a state constitutional question over when the state needed to hold the next general election for governor.
The West Virginia Citizen Action Group, a nonprofit advocacy group, challenged holding a general election for governor in May. The court ruled that an official performing the duties of the governor who was not elected cannot serve more than one year.
Manchin resigned to take the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who died in June 2010. Manchin then won a full, six-year senate term in a special election in November.
