Cabell County West Virginia Sheriff Chuck Zerkle has quietly changed his political party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, according to the WVstatewide.com news site.
Sheriff Zerkle is halfway through his second term and is term limited to eight years, having served six years — so he is ineligible to run again for reelection for county sheriff in 2024. Cabell County is now majority GOP and currently all three county commissioners, the county clerk and county assessor are registered Republicans.
Sheriff Zerkle, who served 25 years in the State Police before running for sheriff, has faced some crises during his administration, including a recent deputy resigning after a fatal automobile accident while off-duty in a county vehicle. That incident was reminiscent of another fatal car accident on Ohio River Road in 2018 — with the Sheriff himself driving — but neither tragedy has resulted in any charges so far.
The surprising party affiliation change may be signal that Zerkle has further political ambitions after serving two terms as sheriff, he is perhaps planning a run for a senate or state delegate seat in the legislature, or he may be laying the groundwork for entering the Huntington mayor’s race next fall, following the path of former Mayor/Sheriff Kim Wolfe.
Zerkle’s transition from the (D) to (R) column follows other recent West Virginia party switches, including former Supreme Court Justice Evan Jenkins in 2013, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice in 2017 and State Senator Glenn Jeffries (Putnam) in 2022.