With Jim Justice vacating the West Virginia governor’s office for a seat in the U.S. Senate, the state’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, is governor-elect and will have some challenges in his new administration.

West Virginia is among the 25 states that do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve abortion and other reproductive rights in several states over the past two years.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is the projected winner of the state’s gubernatorial race, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Morrisey defeated Democratic nominee Steve

The closest West Virginia voters could come to having their say at the ballot box on whether abortion should be legal in the post-Roe v. Wade era might be in this year's governor's race.