Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Robert Williams, West Virginia Senator
Robert "Bob" Williams (b. September 10, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 14 from 2008 to 2016.
Biography
Williams earned his B.S. from Fairmont State College. He went on to receive his M.S. from West Virginia University.
Williams has worked as Director of Marketing and Development for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. He has also worked in the past as a plant pathologist. He has also been a real estate appraiser and farmer.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Williams served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Rural Development |
| • Energy, Industry and Mining |
| • Government Organization |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Rules |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Williams served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Economic Development, Chair |
| • Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chair |
| • Government Organization |
| • Judiciary |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Forest Management Review Commission |
| • Agriculture and Agri-business, Vice Chair |
| • Technology, Vice Chair |
| • Children, Juveniles and Other Issues |
| • Joint Government Organization |
| • Joint Judiciary |
| • Veterans' Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Williams served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chair |
| • Agriculture and Agri-business |
| • Children, Juveniles and Other Issues |
| • Economic Development |
| • Forest Management Review Commission |
| • Government Organization |
| • Joint Government Organization |
| • Judiciary |
| • Joint Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Military |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
| • Veterans' Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Williams served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Economic Development |
| • Energy, Industry and Mining |
| • Government Organization |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Military |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 10, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 30, 2016.
Randy E. Smith defeated incumbent Robert Williams and Matthew Persinger in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 general election.[2][3]
| West Virginia State Senate District 14, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Randy E. Smith |
53.26% | 23,201 | |
| Democratic | Robert Williams Incumbent | 41.93% | 18,264 | |
| Libertarian | Matthew Persinger | 4.82% | 2,098 | |
| Total Votes | 43,563 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Robert Williams ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| West Virginia State Senate District 14, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Robert Williams Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Randy E. Smith ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 Republican primary.[4][5]
| West Virginia State Senate District 14, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Randy E. Smith (unopposed) | |
2012
Williams ran in the 2012 election for West Virginia State Senate, District 14. Williams ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7][8]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Bob Williams election to an open seat in the West Virginia State Senate, District 14.[9] Williams raised $61,653 for his campaign, while Gary Howell raised $32,314.[10]
| West Virginia State Senate, District 14 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Bob Williams (D)
|
22,205 | 51.28% | ||
| Gary G. Howell (R) | 21,098 | 48.72% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Robert has a wife, Jennifer Williams.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of West Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 12.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 14 through March 14.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 10.
|
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Robert + Williams + West + Virginia + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
- West Virginia state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
- Robert Williams on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Sen. Williams," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 3, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 contributions," accessed April 30, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
West Virginia State Senate District 14 2008– December 1, 2016 |
Succeeded by Randy E. Smith |
