West Virginia State Senate elections, 2012

| West Virginia's 2012 elections

* * *

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |

|
|

<- 2010

West Virginia State Senate elections, 2012

* * *

Majority control • Campaign contributions
Qualifications • Term limits • Impact of Redistricting

* * *

State Legislative Election Results

* * *

List of candidates District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17

* * *

West Virginia State Senate • 2012 West Virginia House Elections

Elections for the office of West Virginia State Senate were held in West Virginia on November 6, 2012. A total of 17 seats were up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was January 28, 2012. The primary Election Day was May 8, 2012.

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2012 and State legislative elections, 2012

## Incumbents retiring[edit]

Name | Party | Current office

|
|

Dan Foster |  Democratic | Senate District 17
John Fanning |  Democratic | Senate District 6
Karen Facemyer |  Republican | Senate District 4

## Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 6 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the West Virginia State Senate:

West Virginia State Senate

Party  | As of November 5, 2012  | After the 2012 Election
| Democratic Party | 28 | 24
| Republican Party | 6  | 10
Total |  34 |  34

## Campaign contributions[edit]

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for West Virginia State Senate in the past four elections and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.[1]

Year  | Number of candidates  | Total contributions

|
|

2010  | 51  | $2,663,291
2008  | 41  | $2,445,385
2006  | 45  | $3,412,237
2004  | 44  | $2,543,094
2002  | 49  | $3,209,760

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $2,663,291 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:[2]

Donor  | Amount

|

Chafin, H Truman  | $303,000
Smith, Greg (Hootie)  | $227,570
Barnes, John  | $88,451
Greathouse, Dan  | $50,834
Contractors Association of West Virginia  | $26,300
Tucker, Gregory A  | $25,200
West Virginia Bankers Association | $25,000
West Virginia Chamber of Commerce  | $21,500
West Virginia Building & Construction Trades Council  | $18,000
Frich, Cindy  | $17,854

## Impact of redistricting[edit]

See also: Redistricting in West Virginia

A new Senate map was passed by the Senate on August 3, 2011, concurred with by the House on August 5, and signed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) on August 18. Though the House of Delegates faced a trickier situation in that its first map was vetoed by Tomblin over errors, and had debate centered around the elimination of multi-member districts, the Senate map was largely held over from the previous one. However, a lawsuit was brought, charging that there was a lack of equality of apportionment, compactness of districts, and minimization of division of counties.[3]

## Qualifications[edit]

Section 13 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."

## List of candidates[edit]

### District 1[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Jack Yost: 12,261 a \- Incumbent Yost first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* Pat McGeehan: 5,487 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Jack Yost: 11,760
Pat McGeehan: 9,146

### District 2[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Jeffrey V. Kessler: 11,357 a \- Incumbent Kessler first assumed office in 1997.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Jeffrey V. Kessler: 16,614

### District 3[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* No candidates filed.

May 8 GOP primary:

* Donna J. Boley: 8,113 a \- Incumbent Boley first assumed office in 1985.

Note: Frank Deem was included on the initial official candidate list, but was later removed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Donna J. Boley: 3,736

### District 4[edit]

Incumbent Republican Karen Facemyer did not seek re-election.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Michael "Mike" Bright: 6,085 a
* Marla Dee Ingels: 2,936

May 8 GOP primary:

* Mitch B. Carmichael: 8,432 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Michael "Mike" Bright: 13,403
Mitch B. Carmichael: 16,981

### District 5[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Robert H. "Bob" Plymale: 8,263 a \- Incumbent Plymale first assumed office in 1992.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Robert H. "Bob" Plymale: 23,417

### District 6[edit]

Incumbent Democrat John Fanning did not seek re-election.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Michael "Mike" Mitchem: 6,216
* Mark Wills: 6,768 a \- Incumbent Wills first assumed office in 2010.

May 8 GOP primary:

* Bill Cole: 2,757 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Mark Wills: 9,034
Bill Cole: 11,975

### District 7[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Sammy D. Dalton: 6,428
* Art Kirkendoll: 11,529 a \- Incumbent Kirkendoll first assumed office in 2011.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Art Kirkendoll: 6,629

### District 8[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Corey Palumbo won re-election in District 17.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Jennifer Scragg Karr: 3,307
* Joshua R. Martin: 3,928 a

May 8 GOP primary:

* Chris Walters: 4,261 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Joshua R. Martin: 17,039
Chris Walters: 19,123

### District 9[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Richard Browning: 5,086 - Incumbent Browning first assumed office in 2008.
* Daniel Hall: 5,303 a -

May 8 GOP primary:

* Epp E. Cline: 3,545 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Daniel Hall: 18,004
Epp E. Cline: 15,595

### District 10[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Mark Wills ran for re-election in District 6.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* William R. Laird, IV: 11,264 a \- Incumbent Laird first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

William R. Laird, IV: 20,247

### District 11[edit]

Incumbent Democrat William R. Laird IV won re-election in District 10.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Margaret Kerr Beckwith: 7,622 a
* Paul "P.J." Louk: 5,347

May 8 GOP primary:

* Clark Barnes: 7,486 a \- Incumbent Barnes first assumed office in 2004.

November 6 General election candidates:

Margaret Kerr Beckwith: 9,454
Clark Barnes: 20,045

### District 12[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Doug Facemire: 12,770 a \- Incumbent Facemire first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Doug Facemire: 11,277

### District 13[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Roman W. Prezioso, Jr.: 10,559 a \- Incumbent Prezioso first assumed office in 1996.

May 8 GOP primary:

* Casey Mayer: 3,480 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Roman W. Prezioso, Jr.: 11,495
Casey Mayer: 5,623

### District 14[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Bob Williams: 9,508 a \- Incumbent Williams first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Bob Williams: 18,818

### District 15[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* No candidates filed.

May 8 GOP primary:

* Craig P. Blair: 7,046 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Craig P. Blair: 28,766
Daniel Litten: 6,847

### District 16[edit]

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Herb Snyder: 5,051 a \- Incumbent Snyder first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* James Kenneth Ruland: 4,163 a

November 6 General election candidates:

Herb Snyder: 20,764
James Kenneth Ruland: 17,763

### District 17[edit]

Incumbent Democrat Dan Foster did not seek re-election.

May 8 Democratic primary:

* Corey Palumbo: 8,581 a \- Incumbent Palumbo first assumed office in 2008.

May 8 GOP primary:

* No candidates filed.

November 6 General election candidates:

Corey Palumbo: 28,384

## External links[edit]

* Official primary results
* West Virginia Secretary of State - 2012 Candidate Listing By Office
* Official general election results

## See also[edit]

* West Virginia State Senate
* West Virginia State Legislature
* State legislative elections, 2012

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Follow the Money
2. ↑ Follow the Money: "West Virginia Senate 2010 Campaign Contributions"
3. ↑ The Charleston Gazette, "Senate redistricting also under fire," November 3, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2012

[show]

Current members of the West Virginia State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Craig Blair

Majority Leader:Tom Takubo

Minority Leader:Stephen Baldwin

Senators

District 1

Owens Brown (D)

Ryan Weld (R)

District 2

Charles Clements (R)

Mike Maroney (R)

District 3

Mike Azinger (R)

Donna Boley (R)

District 4

Amy Grady (R)

Eric Tarr (R)

District 5

Robert Plymale (D)

Mike Woelfel (D)

District 6

Mark Maynard (R)

Chandler Swope (R)

District 7

Rupie Phillips (R)

Ron Stollings (D)

District 8

Glenn Jeffries (D)

Richard Lindsay (D)

District 9

Rollan Roberts (R)

David Stover (R)

District 10

Stephen Baldwin (D)

Jack Woodrum (R)

District 11

William Hamilton (R)

Robert Karnes (R)

District 12

Patrick Martin (R)

Mike Romano (D)

District 13

Robert Beach (D)

Michael Caputo (D)

District 14

Randy Smith (R)

David Sypolt (R)

District 15

Craig Blair (R)

Charles Trump (R)

District 16

Hannah Geffert (D)

Patricia Rucker (R)

District 17

Eric Nelson (R)

Tom Takubo (R)

Republican Party (23)

Democratic Party (11)

v • e

2012 Elections to State legislatures

State Senate elections|

Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

* * *

State House elections|

Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

* * *

Election information|

2012 Election Projections • List of candidates running for election • Filing deadlines and primary dates • State house elections • State senate elections • Retiring incumbents • Elected Officials Running for a Different office • "Game-changers" in the elections • Incumbents with altered districts from Redistricting • Incumbents who chose to retire because of redistricting • 2010 defeated candidates running again in 2012 • Incumbents defeated in 2012 elections • Candidates with no general election opposition in 2012 state legislative elections • Official Lists of Candidates

* * *

Result Analysis Pages|

Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming