By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Patrick Morrisey may not be on the ballot this fall, but campaign finance reports show that his political machine remains active this election cycle raising and spending campaign cash using a complex array of funds.

Team Morrisey, the governor’s Political Action Committee (PAC), filed a report last Wednesday showing donations of $382,468.21 and expenses of $313,492.40 from July 1-September 30. 

Who were the top donors?

The 10 largest donors to Team Morrisey account for almost half of the $382,468.21. They are: 

• Bernard Lee Snyder — $30,208.65
  • Employer listed as Snyder Environmental Services Inc.
• Allen Bell — $25,000
  • Employer: AB Contracting Inc.
• Matthew Walker — $25,000
  • Employer listed as self-employed
• Hank Booth — $15,000
  • Employer: ABI Companies Inc.
• Edward Bell — $10,416.98
  • Employer: AB Contracting Inc.
• Conrad G. Lucas II — $10,416.98
  • Employer: Capitol Resources
• Corey Skidmore — $10,416.98
  • Employer: Skidmore Digital
• Costonia Station LLC / Marcus Frankovitch — $20,000 combined
  • $10,000 from Costonia Station LLC and $10,000 from Marcus Frankovitch, identified as the company’s sole proprietor
• Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation — $10,000
• Charles Town HBPA Inc. — $10,000 

In total, 132 donors contributed to Team Morrisey in the leadup to the general election. Ninety were from outside the state and 40 were from inside the state. 

How was the money spent?

Over the past three months, Team Morrisey spent $313,492.40. Nearly 90% of those expenses were transfers to other PACs, which largely support Morrisey-aligned candidates. 

• Black Bear PAC, Inc. — $136,021.16
• Blue and Gold Fund — $121,484.69
• Blue and Gold PAC — $20,385.84

These three transfers totaled $277,891.69, or about 88.6% of all Team Morrisey disbursements for the quarter. 

Black Bear PAC has not filed reports this election cycle with the state. 

Blue & Gold PAC raised over $33,000 this reporting period and spent nearly $19,000, all supporting other candidates or transferring funds to Team Morrisey. 

Blue & Gold Fund has not reported any campaign activity to the state but has made regular reports on the federal level, to the Federal Election Commission. They reported nearly $273,000 cash on hand at the beginning of 2026. 

Team Morrisey also spent over $18,000 renting space at Stonewall Resort and listed a debt of over $28,000 still outstanding to Stonewall Resort for the same purpose. 

An invitation to a pair of Team Morrisey fundraisers circled on social media this summer, showing events in Napa Valley, California, and Stonewall Resort in West Virginia. No expenses for the Napa Valley event are apparent on the latest campaign finance report, though many of the large donations seem to correlate with the suggested tiers of donors including “Host” with a donation of $25,000, “Co-Host” with a donation of $10,000, and “Sponsor” with a donation of $5,000. 

Since 2025, Team Morrisey has raised and spent approximately $2.8 million. 

How are the Morrisey-linked PACs organized, & why does that matter?

Campaign finance reports for state candidates and committees are all listed online through a registry maintained by the WV Secretary of State’s office. Click here to visit that page.

A search for Team Morrisey (as well as Blue & Gold PAC and Black Bear PAC) in that system lists them as “state political action committees.” 

According to state law, state political action committees are subject to certain limitations including maximum contributions of $5,000 per person and prohibitions against one state PAC giving to another. 

Team Morrisey and the other associated PACs are not subject to those limitations because they are not actually state PACs. They are organized as federal PACs who also report their activity to the state. 

According to David Cook, General Counsel for Secretary of State Kris Warner, Team Morrisey PAC chose to file their documents with the state in order to show transparency. However, the state’s campaign finance reporting system could only categorize them as a “state PAC”, leading to come confusion as to how they are actually organized. 

The FEC’s website confirms that they are indeed federal PACs, which makes them subject to federal PAC laws. They are also organized as joint fundraising committees, which allows them to raise larger amounts of money than standard PACs and transfer funds between one another. 

Team Morrisey still has $91,272.70 on hand currently, with additional fundraisers ongoing according to publicly-available invitations. They have $85,909.31 in debts in obligations. 

The next round of campaign finance reports will be submitted by October 23, with a final round of reporting for this election cycle coming in January 2027 after the general election this November.