Miss West Virginia 2025, Courtney Bearer — the first competitor ever to perform a hula hoop routine on the Miss America stage — joined ALMBS Citizens this morning to share her “Connecting with Cardio” heart health platform and a message about working hard regardless of the obstacles. Her keynote reminded Citizens that 80% of heart disease cases are preventable, and that the things that make you different are often the things that make you memorable.
Brent Walker, Communications Director for the West Virginia Department of Transportation and the 1981 ALMBS Governor, returned to Jackson’s Mill on June 10 to deliver a breakfast keynote on what it actually takes to govern. Speaking directly to ALMBS’s newly elected leadership and bringing greetings from Governor Patrick Morrisey, Walker reminded Citizens that “winning the office is the clean part” — and that real leadership is “the brutal science of choosing between competing necessities.” Forty-five years after his own ALMBS year, Walker said the memory of Jackson’s Mill is still driving him.
The Federalist Party ran the table. In the 2026 Mountaineer Boys State general election, Federalist nominees won all six statewide constitutional offices — a clean sweep, and one the primary turnout didn’t forecast, since Nationalists had cast more primary ballots than Federalists (157 to 131). A total of 286 ballots were cast Tuesday.
At the top of the ticket, Jaxson “Action” Rappold (Federalist) cruised to the Governor’s office with 205 votes (71.68%), defeating Coleman “Coalman” Nutter (Nationalist), who took 67 (23.43%). Write-ins drew 14 votes (4.90%) — the only race where they made a real dent.
Governor Debate
Coal Man vs. Action Jack. The governor hopefuls turned the stage into a referendum on nuclear energy — Rapold betting on it to “save us,” Nutter firing back to “invest in people, not power.” Who made the closing case? The full showdown is inside.
Cabinet Debates
Coal or nuclear? Tax the companies or the people? From agriculture to attorney general, the cabinet candidates traded sharp policy blows — plus a bipartisan lawsuit over cabin representation and a debate-stealing “carousel” metaphor. See how every office matched up inside.
Nationalist Convention
“West Virginia first.” The Nationalists laid out a four-pillar platform — industry, quality of life, opportunity, and education reform — backed by a slate from the Chocolate Thunder to the Coal Man. They closed in unity: nationalists and federalists, “all West Virginians.” Get the full convention recap inside.
Federalist Convention
The Federalists came loud and ready — from the “Greenhouse, great house” chant to “Yao money,” a lawsuit over fair representation, and a keynote built on nuclear power. Action Jack closed it out, and the whole party sang it home with “Country Roads.” Read the full convention recap inside.
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey returned to Boys State this week with a simple challenge: make a friend who disagrees with you. He walked citizens through four major cases his office is fighting—from women’s sports at the Supreme Court to child safety online—and urged them to build their futures in West Virginia.
Panhandle County (city of Ellwood City) is the fifth of six county groups to report, bringing the statewide count to 5 of 6 counties — about 83% reporting. Only Kanawha/Braxton (Charleston/Sutton) remains before the primary picture is complete. The Panhandle is a single county with no sub-district splits.
The centralized count of the statewide constitutional offices is in. Across all county groups, 288 ballots were cast in the Mountaineer Boys State primary — 157 Nationalist and 131 Federalist — setting both parties’ nominees for the fall general election and the field of five for the Supreme Court of Appeals.
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