Earl Ray Tomblin

Last updated

Joanne Jaeger
​
(m. 1979)​
Earl Ray Tomblin
Earl Ray Tomblin 2017.jpg
35th Governor of West Virginia
Children1
Education West Virginia University (BS)
Marshall University (MBA)
Signature Earl Ray Tomblin signature.png

Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as president of the West Virginia Senate from 1995 to 2011. Tomblin became acting governor in November 2010 following Joe Manchin's election to the U.S. Senate. He won a special election in October 2011 to fill the unexpired term ending on January 14, 2013, and was elected to a full term as governor in November 2012.

Contents

Early life and education

Tomblin was born in Logan County, West Virginia, and is the son of Freda M. (née Jarrell) and Earl Tomblin. His mother was 18 years old when he was born. [1] He has a Bachelor of Science degree from West Virginia University where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and then went along to receive a Master of Business Administration degree from Marshall University. [2]

State Legislature and Senate President

Tomblin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974, and reelected in 1976 and 1978. He won election to the Senate for the 7th district in 1980 and was subsequently re-elected every four years until his election as governor.

Tomblin was elected on January 3, 1995, as the 48th President of the West Virginia Senate. Having served in the position for almost seventeen years, he is the longest serving Senate President in West Virginia's history. Tomblin became the first Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia upon creation of the honorary designation in 2000.

As a senator, he represented the 7th Senate District encompassing Boone, Lincoln, Logan, and Wayne counties. [3]

Acting governor

Tomblin became acting governor when Joe Manchin resigned after being elected to fill the United States Senate seat of the late Senator Robert Byrd. Tomblin is the first person to serve as acting governor under West Virginia's current constitution.

While acting governor, Tomblin also retained the title of Senate President, per the state constitution. [4] However, he did not participate in legislative business or preside over the Senate while acting governor.

Governor of West Virginia

Elections

2011 special

Under the West Virginia constitution, when the governorship becomes vacant with more than one year remaining in the term, a special election must be held for the remainder of the term. In Manchin's case, he left office two years into his second term. Tomblin stated his desire to run for the remainder of the term. Following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals on January 18, 2011, a special gubernatorial election was scheduled for October 4, 2011. [5] [6] Tomblin was successful in the Democratic primary, beating a field of six contenders, while Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney emerged as the Republican nominee in the May 14 primary. Tomblin went on to win the general election against Maloney and was sworn in as governor on November 13, 2011. [7] Immediately before being sworn in as governor, Tomblin resigned from the state senate. [8]

2012

Tomblin ran for election to a full term in 2012, and defeated Maloney in a rematch.

Tenure

In the 2016 presidential election, Tomblin endorsed fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton. [9]

Abortion

Tomblin is anti-abortion. [10] [11] Despite this, in March 2014, Tomblin vetoed a bill that would have banned abortions in West Virginia after 20 weeks, which he said was due to constitutionality issues. [10] In March 2015, Tomblin again vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden by the West Virginia legislature. [11] [12]

Approval ratings

A May 2013 survey by Republican strategist Mark Blankenship showed Tomblin's job approval rating to be at 69 percent, unchanged from two months earlier. [13] According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in September 2013, Tomblin had an approval rating of 47 percent with 35 percent disapproving, up from 44 percent in 2011. [14]

Term limit

Tomblin was barred from running for a second full term in 2016. Under the constitution, a partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.

Personal life

Tomblin was married on September 8, 1979, to Joanne Jaeger, a native New Yorker and graduate of Marshall University, who served as the president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College from 1999 to 2015. [15] [16] They reside in Chapmanville and have one son, Brent. Tomblin attends the First Presbyterian Church of Logan.

Electoral history

West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1974
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Mathis7,13925.24
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin7,08625.06
DemocraticSammy Dalton7,06124.97
DemocraticCharles Gilliam6,99324.73
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1976
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)8,54514.88
DemocraticDenver Mathis (inc.)7,64113.31
DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)6,74511.75
DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)6,52311.36
DemocraticWilliam Calyton4,3317.54
DemocraticMike Hill4,1447.22
DemocraticJimmy Vance3,2745.70
DemocraticCris Farley3,2465.65
DemocraticJohn Mendez3,1695.52
DemocraticSim Howze Jr.2,1973.83
DemocraticFlorena Colvin1,6182.82
DemocraticDollie Mae Hill1,5562.71
DemocraticHomer Vaughan1,5352.67
DemocraticCharles Jesse Dillon1,2612.20
DemocraticRobert Marcum Jr.8441.47
DemocraticGreg Anderson Adams7831.36
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1976
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticThomas Mathis (inc.)17,87225.15
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)17,84325.11
DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)17,70124.91
DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)17,64124.83
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1978
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)8,11918.66
DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)7,86318.07
DemocraticTomas Mathis (inc.)6,99016.07
DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)6,76615.55
DemocraticClaude Ellis4,3409.98
DemocraticGary Hoke3,3437.68
DemocraticLarry Hendricks3,1777.30
DemocraticJames Trent2,9056.68
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1978
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticTom Mathis (inc.)11,52321.10
DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)11,50121.06
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)11,43920.94
DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)11,39520.86
RepublicanShirley Mae Baisden4,7218.64
RepublicanSamuel Dingess4,0437.40
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1980
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin12,18357.02
DemocraticMoss Burgess4,98223.32
Democratic Danny Dahill 4,20019.66
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1980
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin28,06572.04
RepublicanDennis Fillinger10,89527.96
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1984
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)28,29774.99
RepublicanEmil Baldwin Sr.9,43625.01
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1988
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)15,47059.21
Democratic Art Kirkendoll 10,65940.79
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1988
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)25,840100.00
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1992
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)26,198100.00
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1996
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)15,58060.98
DemocraticLarry Hendricks6,61025.87
DemocraticMoss Burgess3,35913.15
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1996
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)25,39681.45
RepublicanStephen Ray Smith5,78318.55
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2000
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)26,408100.00
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)17,19481.30
DemocraticBruce "Becky" Hobbs3,95518.70
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)27,14774.48
RepublicanBilly Marcum9,30025.52
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)24,01073.15
RepublicanBilly Marcum8,81326.85
West Virginia Gubernatorial Special Democratic Primary Election, 2011
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin51,34840.40
Democratic Rick Thompson 30,63124.10
Democratic Natalie Tennant 22,10617.39
Democratic John Perdue 15,99512.58
DemocraticJeffrey Kessler6,5505.15
DemocraticArne Moltis4810.38
West Virginia Gubernatorial Special Election, 2011
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin149,20249.55
Republican Bill Maloney 141,65647.05
MountainBob Henry Baber6,0832.02
IndependentMarla Dee Ingels2,8750.95
American Third PositionHarry Bertram1,1110.37
Write-inPhil Hudok760.03
Write-inDonald Lee Underwood540.02
Write-inJohn "Rick" Bartlett270.01
West Virginia Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election, 2012
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)170,48184.37
DemocraticArne Moltis31,58715.63
West Virginia Gubernatorial Election, 2012
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)335,46850.49
Republican Bill Maloney 303,29145.65
Mountain Jesse Johnson 16,7872.53
LibertarianDavid Moran8,9091.34

Notes

  1. ↑ Assumed title of lieutenant governor in 2000.

References

  1. ↑ "Freda Mae Tomblin's Obituary on Southern WV". Southern WV. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Earl Ray Tomblin". The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Humanities Council. November 3, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  3. ↑ "West Virginia Senate District Map". West Virginia Senate . Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ "West Virginia Constitution". West Virginia Legislature . Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Tomblin succeeds Manchin as West Virginia governor". Washington Post. November 15, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Acting W.Va. Governor Proclaims Oct. 4 Election". Charleston Gazette. January 21, 2011. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ "News from The Associated Press". Hosted.ap.org. October 5, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Earl Ray Tomblin Sworn in as W.Va. Governor – WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports". Wowktv.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Governor Tomblin Endorses Hillary Clinton for President". Office of the Governor of West Virginia. April 29, 2016. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Associated Press (March 29, 2014) – "WV Governor Vetoes Abortion Bill, Sparking Outrage From National Pro-Life Group". Fox News. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  11. 1 2 La Ganga, Maria (March 3, 2015) – "West Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Abortion At 20 Weeks". Los-Angeles Times. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Eyre, Eric & Nuzum, Lydia (March 6, 2015) – "20-Week Abortion Ban to Become W.Va. Law; Senate Overrides Tomblin Veto". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  13. ↑ Kercheval, Hoppy (May 9, 2013) – "Poll Numbers Show Manchin, Capito, Tomblin, Tennant Strength". WV MetroNews. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ Jensen, Tom (September 25, 2013) – "West Virginia Miscellany". Public Policy Polling. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ "About the First Lady". Firstlady.wv.gov. November 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  16. ↑ "President Joanne Jaeger Tomblin Announces Retirement | News from Southern". Southernwv.edu. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
Political offices
Preceded by President of the West Virginia Senate
1995–2011		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of West Virginia
2010–2017
Acting: 2010–2011		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Joe Manchin
 Democratic nominee for Governor of West Virginia
2011, 2012 		Succeeded by
Jim Justice
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former Governor Order of precedence of the United States
Within West Virginia		Succeeded byas Former Governor
Order of precedence of the United States
Outside West Virginia		Succeeded byas Former Governor
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