Listen to “Social Media Post May Backfire on Morrisey” on Spreaker.
Governor Patrick Morrisey took to social media Friday evening.
“West Virginians are still waiting for the Legislature to deliver meaningful income tax relief to our citizens,” Morrisey posted. “Today is Day 52 of the 60-day session. Time is running out. Demand your Delegate and Senator pass income tax cuts NOW!”
A question to Morrisey on X asking whether the post should be interpreted to mean five percent is too little — or whether he would reject such a deal as part of a budget agreement — went unanswered.
.@MorriseyWV is this post to be interpreted as 5 percent is not enough and / or not a deal you’ll accept? https://t.co/22IEgR6kgD
— T.J. Meadows, Co-Host MetroNews Talkline (@TJMeadows304) March 6, 2026
My view is the governor thinks 5 percent is not meaningful.
Morrisey made the post after a few important developments that add context.
The House and Senate had just reached an agreement on the state’s next fiscal year budget. While that budget does not contemplate a 10 percent tax cut, prevailing wisdom around the Capitol suggests House leaders stand ready to allow the governor a 5 percent cut generated through reduced revenue estimates from his office. After all, the legislature may not change the governor’s revenue estimates and funding the cut via lower estimates doesn’t directly require cuts on the expense side.
Senate Finance Chair Jason Barrett has said the 5 percent is important to the Senate. There’s no reason for the Senate to pass on a relatively sure thing they’ve already ironed out with the House. As Barrett said, the latest version represents the final compromise with the House. The parties have reached agreement – it’s done.
Plus, the governor surely knows – the legislature all but wrote it in crayon – any such cut wouldn’t come before the budget is back in their hands to handle any line-item veto.
Why would he make a post knowing these things, unless unhappy with the amount?
Given that calculus, the governor’s post reads as something close to an outright rejection of the legislature’s plan and the five percent. Morrisey appears willing to forgo a deal — one where everyone could claim a win — for the opportunity to potentially bank more political capital from the failure to achieve what he considers “meaningful” tax relief. A failure he would lay at the feet of the legislature.
That strategy could backfire.
Morrisey’s post, along with the reposts that followed, drew mixed reactions. Many responses pointed to poor road conditions and suggested tax cuts should wait until infrastructure improves. Water system needs were mentioned frequently, and special education funding surfaced in the comments as well, along with a bent to focus on property taxes instead of the income tax.
Legislators are no doubt paying attention to those reactions and could use them to their advantage — especially in the House. You’ll recall that chamber originally messaged their desire for no incremental tax cut beyond the current trigger mechanism.
The legislature’s passing the budget early already weakened the governor’s line-item veto power. This self-imposed push now risks something else: Morrisey losing any tax cut altogether. Anecdotally, social media feedback suggests many voters would be comfortable with that outcome.
If House leaders — who remain firmly in the driver’s seat on this issue — respond by simply leaving the five-percent tax cut bill in a desk drawer and instead direct the surplus created by the already lowered revenue estimates toward roads, water systems, or special education, the governor loses the battle entirely.
And if Morrisey ultimately accepts the five-percent deal after this heavily-viewed public post, he risks looking politically weakened against a legislature that stood its ground. What could have been framed as a negotiated victory suddenly looks like a retreat on his part.
It almost feels as though the legislature handed the governor enough rope, confident he might use it.
Looking further ahead, there’s another complication. If voters ultimately receive better roads instead of a modest income tax cut — just as voters seemingly want — how does the governor campaign on the issue later? It becomes difficult to argue lawmakers should be replaced for refusing to cut taxes when the result is infrastructure improvements many voters were asking for in the first place.
Whether the post was carefully calculated or simply off-the-cuff, Morrisey has backed himself into a corner. How — and how successfully — he navigates out of it remains to be seen. But, the great ones always find a way. Maybe Morrisey will or maybe he won’t?