CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The House of Delegates seat that should have gone to Joseph de Soto has now been filled.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey appointed Ian Masters to the Berkeley County-based 91st District seat. Masters is the president of the West Virginia Defense League and a Republican.
In November, de Soto won the seat as a Republican, however, just a day before he was arrested for allegedly threatening his soon-to-be colleagues, he had switched to the Democratic party.
House Resolution 4 passed on Jan. 8, 2025, to officially vacate de Soto from the 91st District seat. The Democratic Party, however, says this was done improperly because the issue was referred to the Berkeley County Republican Executive Committee after de Soto had already changed his party and registered as a Democrat.
The West Virginia Democratic Party says the seat should be filled by a Democrat, and the Berkeley County Democratic Executive Committee even submitted three names for the governor’s consideration.
Legal action over the seat is expected in the weeks to come.
The reason the seat became vacant in the first place is that, according to a West Virginia State Police report, de Soto allegedly threatened to kill Delegate Bill Ridenour, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, Delegate Pat McGeehan, Delegate Michael Hite and Delegate Chuck Horst. The complaint said that when de Soto was asked what he meant by what he’d allegedly said, he allegedly said that God called him to kill them.
A criminal complaint said the 61-year-old medical doctor had been upset and felt like he was being attacked and forced out of his position prior to the arrest. According to the complaint, de Soto said on the phone that he was going to kill the five delegates.
