Morrisey’s first legislative appointee takes oath of office amidst controversy

By Matthew Young, RealWV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –  Republican Ian Masters, on Friday, was sworn in as the newest member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates. Masters will now represent the 91st House District, in southern Berkeley County. 

Masters is also new Governor Patrick Morrisey’s first legislative appointment, and it took a House Resolution, two arguments on the House floor, and court intervention to get here. 

Joseph de Soto was elected to represent the 91st House District in November. At the time of his election, he was a registered Republican. And according to House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, de Soto had been “recruited” by House Republicans to fill the seat. 

On Dec. 12, de Soto was arrested after allegedly threatening the lives of several of his fellow House members, including House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and new House Majority Leader Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock. According to the arresting officer, de Soto claimed that he “had a vision to destroy them all,” and that “God called him to kill them.” 

By the time of his arrest, de Soto had changed his registration to Democrat. And though he is currently on court-ordered home confinement pending trial, de Soto was a registered Democrat at the time of his removal from the House of Delegates. 

There was an obvious and expected disagreement as to which party should nominate candidates to fill the seat. As House Republicans outnumber Democrats by a ratio of approximately nine-to-one, the objections and the arguments of the Democratic-minority were moot. 

On January 15, the West Virginia Democratic Party filed a petition with the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals which sought the Court’s assistance in ensuring that the District 91 seat be filled by the party which held the office at the time of its vacancy. On January 23, Morrisey released a statement announcing his appointment of Masters, however he made no mention of Masters’ status as a Republican. It is unknown whether Morrisey was aware of the circumstances surrounding the seat’s vacancy or the way in which it became vacant, nor is it known if he was aware of the legal challenges facing Masters’ appointment. 

On Jan. 17, Speaker Hanshaw filed an “automatic stay” with the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals, delaying their review of the matter until at least 30-days after the end of the 2025 Legislative Session. West Virginia code allows for such an action, and does not require a Supreme Court ruling. 

Ian Masters will now represent the 91st House District for at least the 2025 60-day Legislative Session. However, the Supreme Court of Appeals will still review the matter sometime after its conclusion. If they rule in favor of Republicans, Masters will return as delegate for the second session of the 87th Legislature in 2026. Should the court rule in favor of the Democrats, the Berkeley County Democratic Executive Committee would nominate three candidates to serve in 2026.

Depending on which way the court rules, the situation could become even more complicated. If the court determines that Masters’ appointment violated state code, in theory, that would then suggest that any action taken by Masters as part of the legislature would have been unlawful. 

RealWV will provide updates regarding this situation as additional details are made available.