The theme of the West Virginia Democratic Party's state convention was unity, but there were plenty of differences on display at the Charleston Civic Center on Saturday.
Party leaders re-elected Belinda Biafore, a supporter of Hillary Clinton and an ally of Sen. Joe Manchin and the state Democratic establishment, as chairwoman. But throughout the convention, supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign made their presence known.
Christopher Regan, the party's vice chairman for the last year, called for a change in leadership as he challenged Biafore for the party's chair.
"There is an entrenched power structure within our party highly resistant to change," said Regan, a Wheeling lawyer and a Sanders supporter throughout the campaign.
Regan called for a professional headquarters and a fundraising chair to help the party win elections and to modernize the party's message.
People in West Virginia are "suffering specifically because we're not winning," Regan told his fellow Democrats.
In her speech before the vote, Biafore touted party unity and her experience as the reason that she should be re-elected.
"At the end of the day we all have the same mission," Biafore said, "and that is unity."
The divide between the two factions was clear. Regan stood with some of his supporters in the back of the room, while Biafore and most of her supporters were in the front.
The vote for party leader came after a lunch for executive committee members honoring Biafore that was sponsored by Manchin. In his speech Saturday, gubernatorial nominee Jim Justice thanked Biafore and Bill Laird, the former Fayette County sheriff and delegate who was elected the party's new vice chairman. Justice did not mention Regan.
"We are constantly reminded of the need for unity," Regan said. "But that unity can't be a false unity."
Regan - who said earlier he would support Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee - left the meeting shortly after he found out he lost.
Biafore became state party chairwoman last year, when Larry Puccio stepped down. Puccio, Manchin's former chief of staff, now works for Justice's campaign.
The divisions among convention delegates were apparent at other events in the state convention.
Delegates began considering changes to the party platform before noon, and kept it up for more than five hours.
Amendments, mostly suggested by Sanders delegates, added some of the independent senator's more popular positions to the platform, like support for legalization of marijuana and a $15 hourly minimum wage.
Earlier in the morning, shortly after newcomer Mary Ann Claytor energized the audience with her speech about why she was running to be state auditor, more than 50 delegates walked out on a speech by Justice.
Justice, who brought along an ax and a tackle box that he said he bought for $600 over Memorial Day weekend from a woman who was selling her property to try and support herself, didn't seem to notice.
"You've got a little lady on a ridge selling everything she's got, and you're dealing with raw milk," Justice said, joining several speakers who mentioned the raw milk issue.
Justice spoke about tourism, education and agriculture. "You've got to be diversified," Justice said about the economy, after he said that he wasn't giving up on coal. "You've got to have all kinds of stuff."
Amid the disconnect between the traditional and progressive factions of the party, many of the elected leaders in attendance stressed unity.
"I think we've got a ways to go," said Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia. "But I think it will come around."
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or on reach @drdesrochers on Twitter.