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They can say what they want; when the man is dead, his seat is vacant. There can be no denying that, there can be no legal contortion that can change that.

You are confusing death with vacancy. Dead is dead, but vacancy is another matter. It may turn out to be the same as death, but could also be something else depending upon statute and case law. Reality and the law are not always congruent.

A political office is not an apartment; there is no occupancy staute. Dead is dead and the office is vacant. There can be no legal contortion that can change that...granted, they can ignore the law, but that will not make it legal. The rules are clear. The State law is clear. The only thing unclear is the balls the party and the people of WV have to make sure that this is not stolen There might not be a worthy or winning opposition to whatever Demwit they put up, but there is a legal obligation to set the November election now.

"In 34 states, the governor makes an appointment to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy until the next regularly-scheduled general election. At that point, a candidate is elected and serves for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any. Table 1 lists the states where the governor appoints a U.S. Senate vacancy replacement."

WV is on that list;

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/rpt/2009-R-0018.htm

If they break the law, it will be more ammunition to be fired in the next elections.