Christopher C. Wilkes was chief judge for West Virginia’s largest judicial circuit, the 23rd Judicial Circuit, encompassing Morgan, Jefferson, and Berkeley counties. Wilkes was first elected to the court in 1992 and has served on the bench since 1993. He has been reelected four times since, most recently in 2016. On August 17, 2018 he announced his candidacy for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Division 1. He was not elected, placing third among ten candidates.