ELKINS — The list of Randolph County candidates filing for the May 10 primary election grew significantly just before the Jan. 29 midnight deadline.

Three days before the cutoff date on Jan. 26, 15 Randolph County candidates names had filed to be on the ballot. But by the time the deadline rolled around on Friday, that number had ballooned to more than 40.

“We definitely had a surge of candidates come in and file before the deadline last week,” Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman told The Inter-Mountain Monday. “A bunch of those were for Executive Committee seats.”

A host of candidates have filed to run for the Randolph County Board of Education.

Seeking the Cheat District seat are incumbent Janie Newlon, along with challengers Caleb Vandevender, Philip Chua, Heidi S. McFadden, Shannon Wilfong and Curlie Ray Jr.

Competing for the Tygart District seat will be Charles “Randy” Long, Brittny Drennen, Sherri Collett and Marc Wamsley. Incumbent Lisa Wamsley, who is currently serving as the president of the Randolph County Board of Education, told The Inter-Mountain Monday that she will not seek re-election. She has served on the BOE for the past 16 years.

No candidates have filed to run for the Elkins district seat. Melodee Price is the current BOE member in that seat.

Republican Cris Siler filed to run for a seat on the Randolph County Commission from the Elkins District, alongside Democrats Carol Cain Bush and Robert “Bob” Jones. Both Bush and Siler filed on the first day of the filing period. Siler was appointed to the commission seat back in November to replace Mark Scott, who took a job in Gov. Jim Justice’s administration.

Wiseman, meanwhile, filed to run for re-election to the county clerk’s seat on the first day of the filing period on Jan. 10, as did incumbent Randolph County Circuit Clerk Phil Riggleman.

Those running for the county’s Republican Executive Committee include: Chris Siler, Judy Guye, Carolyn Jackson, Barbara Tyre, Robert Karnes, Amy Karnes, John C. Hemple, Paul Carver, Clark Martin, Rhett Dusenbury, Danny Loudin, Cristin Dusenbury, DW Coop-Allred, and Philip B. Kolsun

Democrats running for a seat on the county’s Executive Committee include: Cindy Stemple, Wanda Leary, Mandy Weirich, Shana Horrigan, Philip W. Isner, David Kesling, Marilyn Kesling, Farukh Khan, M.Louise Channell, Julian Stevenson, Roger Zirkle, E. Wanda Schoonover, Raymond G. Godwin, Maryann Durland, Cody Thompson, and Jesse Milnes.

There are a total of 12 seats for the county’s executive committees to be filled by six men and six women.

Robert Karnes, Amy Karnes, Cristin Dusenbury and Rhett Dusenbury filed for the Republican Congressional Executive Committee, while Mandy Weirich and Maryann M. Durlan filed for the Democratic Congressional Executive Committee.

The Republican Senatorial Executive Committee race saw Robert Karnes, Amy Karnes, Cristin Dusenbury, Rhett Dusenbury and DW Coop-Allred file. Cindy Stemple and Maryann M. Durland filed for the Democratic Senatorial Executive Committee.

Carolyn Jackson, Robert Karnes, Amy Karnes, Cristin Dusenbury, Rhett Dusenbury and DW Coop-Allred filed for the Republican Delegate Executive Committee. Cindy Stemple, Mandy Weirich and Maryann M. Durlan filed for the Democratic Delegate Executive Committee.

Races in the May 10 primary include two U.S. House of Representative districts; 17 seats in the West Virginia Senate; 100 house of Delegates seats; county commission seats; county boards of education seats; and local conservation districts.