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Bill Bell (West Virginia)
Bill Bell (Republican Party) is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 8. Bell assumed office on July 7, 2025. Bell's current term ends on December 1, 2026.
Bell (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the West Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 8. Bell declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 12, 2026.[source]
Biography
Bill Bell earned a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University, Parkersburg in 2017 and graduate degrees from Western Governors University in 2018 and Ashland University in 2023. Bell's career experience includes serving in the Paden City Council.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 12, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 8
Incumbent Bill Bell, Timothy Bassett, and Dave Shelton are running in the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 8 on May 12, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Bill Bell | |
| Timothy Bassett | ||
 | Dave Shelton | |
| ||||
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Endorsements
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2016
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates 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. Incumbent Mike Azinger (R) did not seek re-election.
The following candidates ran in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 10 general election.[2][3]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 10, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Vernon Criss |
15.92% | 8,602 | |
| Republican | Frank Deem Incumbent |
19.40% | 10,480 | |
| Republican | John R. Kelly Incumbent |
20.82% | 11,244 | |
| Democratic | Andy Daniel | 13.74% | 7,422 | |
| Democratic | J. Morgan Leach | 14.25% | 7,697 | |
| Democratic | Bill Merriman | 15.87% | 8,571 | |
| Total Votes | 54,016 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Andy Daniel, J. Morgan Leach and Bill Merriman defeated Stephen Ruble in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 10 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 10, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Andy Daniel |
27.02% | 3,052 | |
| Democratic | J. Morgan Leach |
22.72% | 2,566 | |
| Democratic | Bill Merriman |
32.36% | 3,655 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Ruble | 17.90% | 2,022 | |
| Total Votes | 11,295 | |||
Vernon Criss, incumbent Frank Deem and incumbent John R. Kelly defeated Bill Bell and Matthew Dodrill in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 10 Republican primary.[4][5]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 10, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Vernon Criss |
19.45% | 3,246 | |
| Republican | Frank Deem Incumbent |
26.30% | 4,389 | |
| Republican | John R. Kelly Incumbent |
28.34% | 4,730 | |
| Republican | Bill Bell | 11.26% | 1,879 | |
| Republican | Matthew Dodrill | 14.66% | 2,447 | |
| Total Votes | 16,691 | |||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Bill Bell," July 14, 2025
- ↑ 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
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Kelly (R) |
West Virginia House of Delegates District 8 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
