Natalie Tennant

Natalie Tennant
West Virginia Secretary of State
Incumbent
In office
January 19, 2009 - Present
Term ends
2012
Years in position	4
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$95,000
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 4, 2008
Next election	2012
Term limits	N/A
Education
High school	North Marion High School
Bachelor's	West Virginia University
Master's	West Virginia University
Personal
Birthday	December 25, 1967
Place of birth	Fairview, WV
Profession	Journalism
Religion	Christian
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Natalie Tennant is the current Democratic West Virginia Secretary of State. She was first elected to the statewide position in 2008.

Tennant has filed for reelection to her current post as secretary of state in the 2012 election.

Biography

Natalie Tennant was born and raised on a farm in Fairview, West Virginia (Marion County) to John and Rose Mary Tennant, the youngest of seven siblings. Both her parents and four of her brothers and sisters are teachers, so it was only natural that when she started her collegial career at West Virginia University pursuing a major in education. Over time, however, Tennant came to the realization that she had a deep passion for telling stories, especially positive ones about the people and places of West Virginia, which led her to alter her major to journalism. In 1990, she was selected as the first - and to date only - female to represent the University as the Mountaineer Mascot.

After graduation, Natalie Tennant started her broadcast career working as a television anchor and reporter at WBOY-TV in Clarksburg and WCHS-TV in Charleston. Prior to her taking office in January 2009, both she and her husband co-owned Wells Media Group LLC, a business that specialized in media training and video production. She also serves on the board of directors for the American Heart Association and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Education

• Bachelor's degree, Journalism, West Virginia University
• Master's degree, Corporate & organizational communication, West Virginia University

Political career

Tennant first ran for the office of West Virginia Secretary of State in 2004, losing in the Democratic primary election to Ken Hechler by 1,118 votes. She ran again in 2008, this time beating out then-Democratic House of Delegates Majority Leader Joe DeLong and then-West Virginia State Senator Billy Bailey for the Democratic nomination.

In July 2009, the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R), appointed Tennant and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R) as co-chairs of the Standing Committee on Voter Participation. The responsibilities of the organization include “reviewing NASS partnerships with voter outreach groups and improving communication between states regarding voting practices.”

On Thursday, January 18, 2011, Tennant announced her candidacy in the special election contest for governor in 2011. Tennant lost the May 14, 2011 primary, placing 3rd.

Byrd senate seat

In the wake of the death of Robert C. Byrd, long-time Democratic member of the United States Senate and controversial political figure, both on and off Capitol Hill, the fate of his vacant seat had been left in limbo for over a week. Byrd, who had for a number of years been in frail health, passed away in the early morning hours of Monday, June 28, 2010. At the time of his death, the late-senator had about thirty months left in his term, which was set to expire on January 3, 2013. Under state law, Governor Joe Manchin is given the authority to name an "interim successor until an election can be held;" had Byrd died after Saturday, July 3, 2010, he would have been able to have appointed someone to serve the entire balance of the unexpired term.

But even in this regard, there are issues of concern among political scholars, such as when a vacancy can actually be declared. The biggest area of contention, however, is over when a special election can be called. According to the West Virginia Code of Appointments §3-10-4, "“If the unexpired term of any office is for a longer period than [30 months], the appointment is until a successor to the office has timely filed a certificate of candidacy, has been nominated at the primary election next following such timely filing and has thereafter been elected and qualified to fill the unexpired term.” The state held its primary in May for the 2010 election cycle and won't hold another for two years.

Later, on the same day as Byrd's death, Secretary of State Tennant argued that "state election law does not allow the state to hold an election to fill Byrd's seat until Election Day on Nov. 6, 2012," though it does authorize the governor to appoint a successor until that time. After a firestorm of protests, she suggested that if the governor wanted to hold the election prior to 2012 then he would have to call for a special session of the state legislature to correct the issue.

Supreme Court

In early 2011, a Supreme Court battle ensued about when to elect the next Governor of West Virginia.

Citizen Action Group and local attorney Thorton Cooper say the state Constitution and state code disagree, and a special election for governor should be called quickly. Attorneys for Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and House Speaker Richard Thompson disagree whether an election should be called. Secretary of State Tennant‘s legal counsel took a neutral position.

Kathryn Bayless, counsel for CAG, said only the court could require the Legislature and Tomblin to act, and that an election is needed as soon as possible. Bayless argued that article 7 section 16 of the Constitution is clear there “shall” be a “new” election for governor in event of an absence.

“The people of West Virginia want a new election, and that is what the Constitution provides for,” Bayless said.

“What would you have us do in respect to President Tomblin and the Speaker,” asked Justice Brent Benjamin. “What would you have us mandate those two individuals do? You have us mandate those two individuals to legislate?”

“No sir, I would mandate a new election be conducted as soon as practical, and I believe the court has the authority to do that,” Bayless said.

Issues

Environment

Speaking about her 2011 gubernatorial platform, Tennant endorsed using severance taxes from the Marcellus Shale for technology and education, and also expressed a willingness to enact more regulations and environmental guidelines surrounding the shale.

Internet voting

Tennant's husband, Erik Wells, a Democratic state senator and a U.S. Navy Reserve lieutenant commander, encountered such difficulty trying to vote while deployed in Afghanistan that he ultimately decided to fax his ballot to the U.S., thereby forfeiting his right to anonymity. This incident, as well as West Virginia's outdated, archiveless, paper-based system, spurred Tennant to initiate some upgrades designed to make office operations more time and cost efficient. One thing she did was run a pilot online program in 2010 that allowed 179 deployed West Virginian servicemen to vote "as easily as if they were shopping on Amazon." The problem with electronic voting go beyond violating a voter's constitutional right to discretion, however. While touring the country on behalf of the internet-voting cause, Tennant was faced with a bigger problem, publicized by graduate students at the University of Michigan: The online voting system is too vulnerable to getting hacked.

Controversies

Secretary of State Project

See also: Secretary of State Project

The Center for Public Integrity reported in September 2008 that Natalie Tennant received both the endorsement and financial assistance (nearly $1,000) from the Secretary of State Project, a below-the-radar 527 political organization whose purpose is to "wrestling control of the country from the Republican Party" through the process of "removing their political operatives from deciding who can vote and whose votes will count," namely the office of Secretary of State in many cases.

Elections

State Government
State executive officials
State legislatures
Elections
2012 • 2011 • 2010
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2012

See also: West Virginia secretary of state election, 2012 Tennant will defend her seat in the 2012 election. She is unopposed in the Democratic primary, and will face Republican challenger Brian Savilla in the general election on November 6, 2012. Savilla is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.

2011

See also: West Virginia special gubernatorial election, 2011 and West Virginia state executive official elections, 2011

West Virginia was not scheduled to hold a gubernatorial election until 2012. However, elected Democrat Joe Manchin gave up the seat to join the U.S. Senate in the 2010 midterms. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, also a Democrat, took over the office as West Virginia does not have a lieutenant governor.

2011 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary
Candidates		Percentage
Jeffrey V. Kessler		5.30%
Arnie Moltis		0.38%
John D. Perdue		12.54%
Natalie E. Tenant		17.30%
Richard "Rick" Thompson		24.11%
Earl Ray Tomblin		40.37%
Total votes		126,888

2008

2008 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Natalie Tennant	51.4%
	Democratic Party	Joe DeLong	35.8%
	Democratic Party	Billy Wayne Bailey	12.8%
Total Votes			335,624

2008 Race for Secretary of State - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Natalie Tennant	65.0%
	Republican Party	Charles Minimah	35.0%
Total Votes			667,885

2004

2004 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Ken Hechler	25.7%
	Democratic Party	Natalie Tennant	25.3%
	Democratic Party	Mike Oliverio	20.2%
	Democratic Party	Roger Pritt	15.7%
	Democratic Party	Larrie Bailey	6.8%
	Democratic Party	Donna J. Acord	3.6%
	Democratic Party	George Daugherty	2.7%
Total Votes			260,580

Campaign contributions

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Natalie Tennant's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Natalie Tennant's Campaign Contributions
	2008 West Virginia Secretary of State
Total Raised	$139,291
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$13,937
Top 5 contributors	American Electric Power	$2,000
	Sunnygail Stowers and Lyle Stowers	$2,000 each
	Lena Shell and Robert Shell, Jr.	$2,000 each
	Lora Johnstone and Kent Carper	$2,000
	Mary Prim and Michael Kieschnick	$2,000
Individuals	$115,928
Institutions	$20,950
In-state donations	$117,781
Out-of-state donations	$21,500

Personal

She is married to former news anchor and current state senator for the 8th Congressional District, Erik Wells. They have one child together.

Contact information

Capitol Address:
Secretary of State
Building 1, Suite 157-K
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25305-0770

Phone: (304) 558-6000
Toll Free Phone: (866) 767-8683
Fax: (304) 558-0900
E-mail: wvsos@wvsos.com
E-mail: info@natalietennant.com

See also

• West Virginia Secretary of State
• Governor of West Virginia
• Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia
• Attorney General of West Virginia
• West Virginia secretary of state election, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Official West Virginia Secretary of State website
• Natalie Tennant's Facebook Profile
• Natalie Tennant's Twitter Account
• Natalie Tennant for WV Secretary of State Campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Natalie Tennant biography
• PBS interview with Tennant on internet voting, February 16, 2012