Republican supermajority in the West Virginia House grows by yet another By Delegate Mick Bates talks with Speaker Roger Hanshaw. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography) The Republican supermajority in West Virginia’s House of Delegates just got bigger. Mick Bates Delegate Mick Bates, who had served as a Democrat, announced that he will switch to become a Republican. “I expect that this decision may disappoint and upset some,” Bates, who represents people in the Beckley area, stated in an announcement about the party switch. “I believe that a greater number will welcome it and see it as the right thing to do at the right time for the people I represent.”