November 4, 2026
SFLAction Hails Victory by Pro-Life Legislative Champion Senator Laura Chapman, Alongside Candidates Committed to Advancing Pro-Life Legislation in Charleston
“West Virginia voters are sending a clear message to Charleston: A pro-life label isn’t enough. We need lawmakers willing to put their names on legislation and fight to get it passed. With Toby Heaney emerging from SFLAction’s Future Pro-Life Champions program and heading to the State Senate, and proven champion Laura Chapman returning to the Senate, the Pro-Life Generation expects real results, to stop the illegal flood of chemical abortion pills in the Mountaineer State,” said Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life Action.
Major Victories/Trends in West Virginia:
- All 12 Winning Candidates were SFLAction-Backed or SFLAction Pro-Life Champions.
- All 12 Winning Candidates signed SFLAction’s Pro-Life Candidate Pledge.
MEDIA NOTE: For interviews, email: [email protected].
CHARLESTON, WV (11-04-2026) – Students for Life Action (SFLAction) celebrated 12 election victories in West Virginia following Tuesday’s general election, including a win by newly elected State Senate candidate Toby Heaney, the organization’s first Future Pro-Life Champion of the 2026 election cycle.
The victories also included the re-election of SFLAction Pro-Life Champion State Sen. Laura Chapman, who has helped advance the organization’s legislative efforts to regulate chemical abortion pills.
Election Victories:
Students for Life Action (SFLAction) celebrated the election of the following pro-life candidates in West Virginia:
- Incumbent State Sen. Laura Chapman (R): State Senate, District 1
- Toby Heaney (R): State Senate, District 2
- Incumbent State Sen. Trenton Barnhart (R): State Senate, District 3
- Incumbent State Sen. Jason Barrett (R): State Senate, District 16
- Incumbent Del. Jonathan Pinson (R): House of Delegates, District 17
- Incumbent Del. Jim Butler (R): House of Delegates, District 18
- Incumbent Del. Margitta Mazzocchi (R): House of Delegates, District 31
- Incumbent Del. John Jordan (R): House of Delegates, District 42
- Incumbent Del. Carl Roop (R): House of Delegates, District 44
- Newly elected Alex Bosley (R): House of Delegates, District 85
- Incumbent Del. Gary Howell (R): House of Delegates, District 87
- Incumbent Del. Rick Hillenbrand (R): House of Delegates, District 88
Significance:
Toby Heaney, SFLAction’s first Future Pro-Life Champion of the 2026 election cycle, won his State Senate race after securing a primary victory by more than 600 votes. Heaney participated in SFLAction’s leadership development program, signed its 100% pro-life candidate pledge, and supported the organization’s legislative priorities.
State Sen. Laura Chapman, an SFLAction Pro-Life Champion, previously served as a primary co-sponsor of the organization’s model “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” during the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions.
Del. Margitta Mazzocchi has committed to introducing the “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
All 12 winning candidates — Laura Chapman, Toby Heaney, Trenton Barnhart, Jason Barrett, Jonathan Pinson, Jim Butler, Margitta Mazzocchi, John Jordan, Carl Roop, Alex Bosley, Gary Howell, Rick Hillenbrand — signed SFLAction’s Pro-Life Candidate Pledge committing to vote 100% pro-life and expressed support for the organization’s legislative priorities, including the “Life at Conception Act”, “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act”, and “Clean Water for All Life Act”.
Recent SFLAction Election/State Engagement:
Ahead of the November 3 general election, SFLAction conducted targeted email, text messaging, and social media outreach to educate West Virginia voters about candidates’ pro-life positions and legislative commitments.
During the May primary election, SFLAction reported victories in 23 West Virginia races, including wins by Chapman and Heaney.
2026 State Engagement Numbers:
- SFLAction-supported general election victories: 12
- State Senate victories: 4
- State House victories: 8
- Pro-Life Candidate Pledge signers elected: 12
- Personal text messages sent: 32,130
- Emails sent: 24,918
2026 Total Nationwide Engagement Numbers
Since general election door-knocking began, SFLAction has knocked on 58,400+ doors and flyered 100 churches in 10 states.
- 58,400+ doors knocked
- 19,592 interactions
OUR TRACK RECORD: SFLAction has engaged in the business of introducing and passing pro-life laws since Roe fell and has now worked in 36 states, passing 47 bills, with a state power base of more than 1,700 groups and more than 250,000 trained grassroots advocates. Committed pro-life voters represent the ground game of legislative results. Of the 47 bills, 14 were SFLAction measures, and 33 were SFLAction-inspired efforts.
At the federal level, SFLAction has championed 6 unique bills and inspired a “Life at Conception Act,” with legal protections from the very beginning of a human being’s time on earth.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SFLACTION’S POLICY AGENDA HERE: The Pro-Life Generation’s Political Roadmap to Abolish Abortion
For interviews, email: [email protected].
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The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is an umbrella organization encompassing cutting-edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First community. PLG includes Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501(c)(4), and its 501(c)(3) sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA). Together, they make up the nation’s largest pro-life youth organization, managing grassroots political and policy operations that engage Americans of all ages, with special emphasis on the largest segment of voters: the Youth Vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia, PLG, SFLA, and SFLAction serve more than 1,700 groups on middle school, high school, college, medical school, and law school campuses nationwide. Our team has more conversations with the generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world. Each week, we reach more than 18 million people across social media platforms and average nearly 15 million video views. In addition to SFLA and SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives that serve the future of the pro-life movement, including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement. Over more than 20 years, PLG CEO Kristan Hawkins has grown the operation into a nearly $25 million organization that is now preparing for an abortion-free America.