West Virginia Lawmakers Extend Invitation to Virginia Counties Following Democratic Sweep

West Virginia officials are reviving historic ties with neighboring Virginia by formally inviting several conservative counties to join the Mountain State, a move that comes days after Democrats secured major victories in Virginia’s elections.

State Senator Chris Rose introduced legislation Thursday proposing a significant boundary shift that would welcome a wide swath of Virginia territory into West Virginia. The proposed expansion would stretch hundreds of miles from Big Stone Gap through Jonesville and northward to include Tazewell, Bland and Luray counties.

The bill also extends an invitation to several Maryland counties – Garrett, Allegany and Washington – which would further expand West Virginia’s territory. Rose, a Republican from Morgantown, emphasized the cultural similarities between these regions, noting they “share geographic, economic, cultural and historical connections with West Virginia, including a strong Appalachian heritage, rural lifestyles and a focus on individual liberties.”

This initiative follows a public invitation from newly elected West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey on Wednesday, encouraging disaffected Virginians to consider reuniting with their neighbors to the west following Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s gubernatorial victory and Jay Jones’ win as attorney general.

The two states share a complex history. Virginia and West Virginia existed as a single commonwealth until June 1863, when western counties voted during the “Wheeling Convention” to split from eastern Virginia to remain in the Union as Richmond moved toward secession. The cultural and political differences between the regions were stark – western Virginia generally opposed slavery while the eastern part of the state embraced it.

Senator Jim Justice, who previously served as West Virginia’s governor, has been supportive of similar border-shifting proposals. In 2020, Justice collaborated with Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell Jr. on an initiative they claimed reaffirmed an outstanding invitation from the 1860s.

When asked about the renewed interest in welcoming neighboring residents, Justice spokesman Will O’Grady told Fox News Digital: “Senator Justice has long been one to welcome those disappointed with failed progressive leadership to West Virginia. He continues to promote the state and has proven West Virginia is truly a diamond in the rough when places to live, work and raise a family.”

The historical context for these invitations runs deep. Justice and Falwell previously stated that Frederick County, which borders Martinsburg, West Virginia, still has a separate invitation from 1862 to join West Virginia. They’ve pointed to Thomas Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence about the occasional necessity to “dissolve the political bands” when “the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle them.”

The growing political divide between Virginia’s urban areas and its rural western regions has been a driving factor in these border discussions. While Virginia’s recent lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears never advocated for redrawing state lines, she had proposed establishing a “second governor’s office” in southwestern Virginia to better represent residents who feel disconnected from Richmond’s politics.

West Virginia’s formation during the Civil War era represents the only successful case in American history where a new state was created through secession from another state. Similar modern initiatives in Oregon, California, and an effort to separate Staten Island from New York City have gained attention but failed to advance significantly.

Political analysts note that while these invitations generate headlines, the actual process of redrawing state boundaries would require extraordinary legal hurdles, including approval from both state legislatures and Congress. Nevertheless, the proposals highlight the deepening political divides between rural and urban America, and the growing sentiment among some conservative counties that their values are increasingly at odds with Democratic-led state governments.