Allen Whitt

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Allen Whitt

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 9, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Auburn University, 1994

Personal

Birthplace

Huntsville, Ala.

Religion

Christian/Southern Baptist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Allen Whitt (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent West Virginia. He lost in the Republican primary on June 9, 2020.

Whitt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Allen Whitt was born in Huntsville, Alabama. He earned an undergraduate degree from Auburn University in January 1994. His professional experience includes serving as president of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia.

Elections

2020

See also: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020

United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Paula Jean Swearengin and David Moran in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelley Moore Capito (R)	70.3	547,454
		Paula Jean Swearengin (D)	27.0	210,309
		David Moran (L)	2.7	21,155

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 778,918
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Franklin Riley (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Paula Jean Swearengin defeated Richard Ojeda and Richie Robb in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paula Jean Swearengin	38.3	71,725
		Richard Ojeda	32.9	61,712
		Richie Robb	28.8	53,944

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 187,381
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Allen Whitt and Larry Butcher in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelley Moore Capito	83.3	173,331
		Allen Whitt	9.6	19,972
	Submit photo	Larry Butcher	7.1	14,673

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 207,976
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Allen Whitt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Whitt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Early in my career I was a writer and spokesperson for Dr. Billy Graham's Children's Crusades. Now I'm the President of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. My organization works alongside others like Focus on the Family, The Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom to defend faith, family and freedom. I'm a constitutional conservative who understands that if you take on a well-liked Republican incumbent, you better have a good reason. I have four.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am the only candidate in this race that believes Roe vs. Wade should be overturned.
• I am the only candidate in this race that believes Obergefeld should be overturned.
• As an avid marksman and hunter I oppose any consideration of so called "red flag" laws that would take away due process and infringe upon the rights of gun ownership. My opponent thinks they "make good sense."

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Big government is mortgaging our children's futures and a refusal of our current Congress to limit spending will condemn our country to an eventual collapse. I would start with a renewed effort to restore the free market to healthcare. ObamaCare must be repealed and my opponent refused to vote for a straight repeal. America deserves a Constitutional conservative in the U.S. Senate from West Virginia who isn't afraid to challenge the status quo.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I am a devout Christian and there is no higher example than my savior to emulate. That is most important in times of conflict. Politics is about conflict and how the inevitable conflict of ideas can be won, but the victories managed, so that the loser of the policy debate still believes the process was fair and doesn't abandon the process next time for less civilized approaches.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Faith in the Creator who granted us our rights.

Character - how you behave when no one is looking

Treats others as they would want to be treated

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Like President Lincoln, any public office holder who does not look to a higher authority before he or she makes decisions, lacks the primary quality to lead others. I will do that.

I order my personal priorities by God, others and then self. My policy approach will be similar.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Defends the original intent of the Constitution

What legacy would you like to leave?

I think that those who seek to leave their legacy through politics has been part of our American dilemma for a few decades now.

Instead, I plan to be a good neighbor as Robert Frost wrote, and the fences that divide us won't play such a prominent role in our legacy, instead they will be an opportunity to renew our relationships and minimize our differences.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was on my way to track practice as a freshman decathlete when we got the news that the space shuttle had exploded. I had friends and relatives who had helped to design and construct our space program and in addition to the loss of the lives of our brave astronauts, I new that tens of thousands of employees' lives at NASA would be forever changed as well.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I grew up on My grandfather's dairy farm and working from sun up till sun down was a way of life.

What is your favorite book? Why?

In the Eye of the Storm

Max Lucado

It's focus is on being calm in the midst of the tempest.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The as of yet unnamed superhero who uses his policy powers to eliminate the national debt.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Remember You Young - Thomas Rhett

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

A common struggle for outspoken conservatives is our attempts to convey to our moderate or liberal opponents, that we too are motivated by love and compassion for our fellow citizens. But our compassion is delivered via logical and strategic policy approaches provided for within the framework of the U. S. Constitution.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

-Our Constitution was designed for a moral people and it shall be wholly insufficient for any other. - The less moral our citizens become, the less likely our Constitutional form of government will remain intact.

As the resulting policy fissures widen, the national debt, unchecked immigration, violent terroristic attacks, and the loss of selflessness for our fellow citizens will continue to unravel the America that most patriots cherish,

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The design of the two-representative per state model of the Senate, by the founding fathers, guaranteed that even the small states would have a place at the table of ideas of governing our Congress. West Virginia as a small state certainly benefits from that design.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?

The complexities of American policy and the potential impact of Senate votes on cultural and international, geopolitical dynamics, are not for the uninitiated. Our system makes it possible for a well-liked figure, perhaps even the child of a former politician, to be elected to the Senate. But that does not mean that that incumbent is best suited to lead on policy change when the courage to make a countercultural vote is nexessary.

What do you think of the filibuster?

Lawmaking is designed to be a slow process to protect against mob rule. The fewer laws we have the less our freedom infringed upon. If the country is so divided that the filibuster causes fewer laws to be passed then perhaps that os a good thing.

What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees?

Are they Constitutional origionalists?

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other senators?

Politics is a team sport.

If you are not a current senator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Ways and Means

If you make the rules you make the policy.

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Modeling ones self after any Senator who has continued to spend our nation into almost unrecognizable debt is the exact opposite of why I am running for the Senate.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Shelley Capito (R)

Jim Justice (R)

Representatives

District 1

Carol Miller (R)

District 2

Riley Moore (R)

Republican Party (4)