Early life
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2019) |
Hardesty was born in Man, West Virginia, on February 4, 1963, to Larry D. and Donna B. Hardesty. [1] He attended Richlands High School. [1]
Paul Hardesty | |
|---|---|
| Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 7th district | |
| In office January 18, 2019 –December 3, 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Jim Justice |
| Preceded by | Richard Ojeda |
| Succeeded by | Rupie Phillips |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 4,1963 Man,West Virginia,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Debby Kulchuk [1] |
| Children | 1 [1] |
Paul Hardesty (born February 4,1963) [1] is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a member of the West Virginia Senate from 2019 to 2020. A Democrat,he served the 7th district,which contains Boone,Lincoln,and Logan counties,as well as parts of Mingo and Wayne counties.
Hardesty previously served as president of the Logan County Board of Education from July 2016 to January 2019, [2] and as a legislative aide to Gov. Bob Wise and Gov. Joe Manchin from 2001 to 2007. [2] Hardesty was also a registered coal lobbyist,whose clients included several companies affiliated with current Gov. Jim Justice. [2] [3]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2019) |
Hardesty was born in Man, West Virginia, on February 4, 1963, to Larry D. and Donna B. Hardesty. [1] He attended Richlands High School. [1]
After Richard Ojeda resigned from the West Virginia Senate in 2019 in order to focus on his 2020 presidential campaign, the Democratic committee in the 7th district nominated three candidates to replace him: Hardesty, former state delegate Harry Keith White, and former state senator Art Kirkendoll (whom Ojeda defeated in the 2016 primary). [2] On January 17, 2019, Governor Jim Justice chose Hardesty to fill the vacancy, and Hardesty assumed office the following day. [2]
The appointment caused some controversy, as Hardesty had been a registered coal lobbyist whose clients included several companies affiliated with Justice. While Hardesty closed the lobbying arm of his business upon his appointment, [2] Ojeda nevertheless saw the appointment as "the governor selecting his own personal puppet", [2] and even attempted to rescind his resignation, though he was unsuccessful in doing so. [3]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2019) |
In February 2019, Hardesty voted in favor of a bill to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 and to make it a crime to smoke in a vehicle with a child as a passenger. [4] Hardesty said his vote was influenced by his personal experiences of driving with his parents from Logan to Barboursville on Sundays, with his parents chain-smoking all along the way. [4] Hardesty said he vomited in an identical spot on every ride because of the lack of fresh air and the winding road. [4]
In March 2019, Hardesty voted against HB 2519, a bill to allow, with certain exceptions, people with concealed carry permits to carry weapons on college campuses in West Virginia. [5] All of West Virginia's colleges and universities had been against the passage of the bill. [5]
In 2023, Hardesty endorsed Republican, Moore Capito for Governor. Hardesty donated $5,600 to Capito’s campaign, according to reports filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State.
Shelley Wellons Moore Capito is an American politician and retired educator serving in her second term as the junior United States senator from West Virginia, a post she has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Capito served seven terms as the U.S. representative from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2015. The daughter of three-term West Virginia governor Arch Alfred Moore Jr, she is the dean of West Virginia's congressional delegation, having served in Congress since 2001.
Nicholas Joseph Rahall II is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States House of Representatives from the state of West Virginia.
Arch Alfred Moore Jr. was an American lawyer and Republican politician from West Virginia. He began his political career as a state legislator in 1952. He was elected the 28th and 30th governor of West Virginia, serving from 1969 until 1977 and again from 1985 until 1989, he is the longest-serving West Virginia Governor in state history with 12 years of service. He is the father of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and the grandfather of US Representative Riley Moore.
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.
From the time of the Great Depression through the 1990s, the politics of West Virginia were largely dominated by the Democratic Party. In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush claimed a surprise victory over Al Gore, with 52% of the vote; he won West Virginia again in 2004, with 56% of the vote. West Virginia is now a heavily Republican state, with John McCain winning the state in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
Margaret Lee Workman is an American lawyer and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Her 1988 election to the Supreme Court made her the first woman elected to statewide office in West Virginia and first female Justice on the Court.
Robert Bruce King is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Jeffrey Vincent Kessler is an American politician and former Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate in the United States, representing the 2nd district from 1997 to 2017. He is the former President of the Senate/Lieutenant Governor, Minority Leader of the Senate, Acting President of the Senate and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Kessler is also involved in private practice, where he is a partner in the law firm Berry, Kessler, Crutchfield, Taylor & Gordon.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of West Virginia face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT persons. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1976, and same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014. West Virginia statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal.
The 2014 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in West Virginia after elections in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the three U.S. representatives from West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts.
William Paul Cole III is an American businessman, politician and a former Republican member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 6th district from 2013 to 2017. He was the President of the Senate from 2015 to 2017. Cole also served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from May 28, 2010, to January 12, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Delegate John Shott.
The 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 10.
James Conley Justice II is an American businessman and politician who is a United States senator-elect from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth had declined to $513.3 million as of 2021. He inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies, including the Greenbrier, a luxury resort and National Historic Landmark in White Sulphur Springs.
The 2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
The 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Richard Neece Ojeda II is an American politician and retired United States Army major who served in the West Virginia Senate representing the 7th district from January 2017 until January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran a brief campaign for President of the United States in the 2020 election.
Arch Alfred Moore Capito is an American attorney and politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was a candidate for governor of West Virginia in the state's 2024 gubernatorial election but was defeated by Patrick Morrisey. He resigned from the West Virginia House in December 2023 to focus on his campaign.
The 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia. Democratic Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott and Republican Governor Jim Justice were seeking their first term in office. Justice will succeed independent incumbent Joe Manchin, who did not seek a third full term.
William Stewart Thompson is the United States attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia since 2021. From 2007 to 2021, he served as a judge on the 25th Judicial Circuit of West Virginia.