The communications arm of the House of Delegates had to combat some rumors last week that House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, might be one of the names recommended to Gov. Jim Justice to succeed former state Supreme Court justice Evan Jenkins on the bench.

Jenkins was appointed in 2018 to replace former justice Robin Davis after she resigned in a huff after being one of several justices impeached by the House of Delegates after a series of spending scandals that culminated in two former justices – Menis Ketchum and Allen Loughry – facing federal charges. Jenkins went on to win a special election later in 2018 to serve the remainder of the 12-year term that is up in 2024.

As a result, there could be a special election for the empty seat on the high court under existing law. However, House Bill 4785, would allow someone appointed to a judicial vacancy to serve the remainder of a term as long as three years remained. That bill was introduced last Tuesday on the last day to introduce bills.

“The purpose of House Bill 4785 is to ensure continuity of the court for the remainder of this term and to address similar situations when they arise in the future,” Hanshaw said. “We’re still cognizant of the need to maintain stability in our Judiciary, which is why I believe it is in the entire state’s best interest to establish beyond all reasonable doubt how this vacancy will be filled.”

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So if not Hanshaw, then whom? Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan? I’m told he is not interested. I’m told there was some effort to talk Justice into appointed attorney Mark Carter, an on-and-off-again counsel to the state Republican Party. However, he aligned himself with the anti-Justice faction of the party, so that’s not likely.

What about State Auditor J.B. McCuskey? The former Republican member of the House of Delegates is an attorney and the son of former state Supreme Court justice John McCuskey. I’m sure there are some who are thinking of a run for governor in 2024 who would like nothing more than to sideline McCuskey, who is very popular at the polls and frequently travels the state working with cities and counties on transparency projects.

I don’t see McCuskey throwing his hat in the ring for justice, but stranger things have happened.

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Teresa Toriseva, a Wheeling attorney and Democratic candidate for House of Delegates District 4 against Republican Delegate Erikka Storch, is representing Delegate Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, in a lawsuit over a meme that included a picture of Walker with a picture of a white-robed Klu Klux Klan member to link her support for the 15-week abortion ban bill to eugenics as promoted in Jim Crow south in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Richard Demoske, the president of the Berkeley County chapter of West Virginians for Life, resigned from the group and apologized for the meme in a letter after it was posted to social media at the end of January. He didn’t apologize to Walker, however.

While he thought he was being clever in the meme, the problem is nobody read it. When you post an image of a Klan member with a picture of a black woman, most are going to make the assumption that one is making a racist threat. Was the image a threat though? I’m unaware of any criminal charges that have been filed. A court will have to determine whether the social media post was threatening.

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In the Republican primary race for the new northern 2nd Congressional District, much attention has been paid to current 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney’s ethics investigation. But it was brought to my attention that 1st District Congressman David McKinley also received admonishment from the House Ethics Committee.

According to Roll Call, the committee chided McKinley for not changing the name of the engineering firm he founded in Wheeling in the 1980s. McKinley did not agree with the committee’s findings, saying he received conflicting advice regarding the issue.

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Gov. Jim Justice will be the special guest at a political fundraiser for McKinley next month. Justice also gave McKinley an informal endorsement.

That fundraiser includes several hosts, including lobbyist Nelson Robinson. According to an internal memo from the Mooney campaign, Robinson donated money to the anti-Donald Trump Lincoln Project. They also pointed out a number of social media posts from Robinson attacking Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie.

Also, a new poll from the conservative Club for Growth shows Mooney up, though it includes a lot of undecided voters. The poll, conducted between Feb. 2-3 by WPA Intelligence with 406 likely Republican voters, found Mooney with 43 percent and McKinley with 28 percent. However, there were 27 percent undecided.

Of note: WPA Intelligence is the same firm that consistently said Woody Thrasher would beat Justice in the 2020 Republican primary for governor.

(Adams is the state government reporter for Ogden Newspapers. He can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)