November 02, 2004

According to the Wheeling Intelligencer, Republican Supreme Court candidate Brent Benjamin, favored by defendants concerned about runaway verdicts, (see below), now holds a 52-48 lead over incumbent Democrat Warren McGraw, 149,745 votes to 138,036. There's no indication of what share of precincts may still not be reporting. More: as of 2 am, the vote totals are higher and Benjamin's lead has grown to 53-47, with about 550,000 votes tabulated. This page at the W.V. Secretary of State's site may eventually contain the needed numbers, but doesn't yet.