Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Bill Cole (West Virginia)
Bill Cole (b. May 16, 1956) is a former Republican member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 6 from 2013 to 2017. He was first elected to the chamber in 2012. Cole served as president of the Senate and lieutenant governor of West Virginia from 2015 to 2017.[1] In West Virginia, the president of the Senate also serves as the lieutenant governor.
Cole did not seek re-election to the West Virginia State Senate in 2016. Instead, he was the 2016 Republican nominee for governor of West Virginia. He was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Cole served in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 24 after his appointment on May 28, 2010, until the term expired on November 2, 2010.
Education
Cole earned his B.A. in business administration from Northwood University, with a minor in accounting. He also earned an associate degree in automotive marketing from Northwood Institute.[2]
Career
Cole has served as an automobile dealer and owner of Cole Automotive Group in Bluefield and Bill Cole Automall in Ashland, Kentucky.[2]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cole served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Rules, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Cole served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Government Organization |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
| • Enrolled Bills |
| • Confirmations |
| • Joint Education |
| • Joint Government Organization |
| • Joint Judiciary |
2010
While a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, Cole served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business |
| • Political Subdivisions |
| • Senior Citizen Issues |
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
Cole filed to run as a Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia in 2016. He was unopposed for the Republican nomination. He competed in the November election with coal executive Jim Justice (D)—who won his party's nomination in the May 10 primary election—Mountain Party candidate Charlotte Jean Pritt, Libertarian David Moran, and Constitution Party candidate Phil Hudok.
General election results
Jim Justice defeated Bill Cole, Charlotte Jean Pritt, David Moran, and Phil Hudok in the West Virginia governor election.
| West Virginia Governor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Jim Justice |
49.09% | 350,408 | |
| Republican | Bill Cole | 42.30% | 301,987 | |
| Mountain Party | Charlotte Jean Pritt | 5.89% | 42,068 | |
| Libertarian | David Moran | 2.15% | 15,354 | |
| Constitution Party | Phil Hudok | 0.57% | 4,041 | |
| Total Votes | 713,858 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election results
Bill Cole ran unopposed in the Republican primary for governor.
| Republican primary for Governor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Bill Cole (unopposed) |
100.00% | 161,127 |
| Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) | 161,127 | |
| Source: MetroNews | ||
2012
Cole ran in the 2012 election for West Virginia State Senate, District 6. Cole ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and defeated incumbent Mark Wills (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Cole |
57% | 11,975 | |
| Democratic | Mark Wills Incumbent | 43% | 9,034 | |
| Total Votes | 21,009 | |||
2010
Cole did not run for election to the office.
Campaign themes
2016
Cole's campaign website included the following positions:
| “ |
CREATING GOOD PAYING JOBS Standing up for our energy jobs Establishing a modern tax code Ending the heavy hand of regulation STRENGTHENING EDUCATION Ending Common Core and establishing West Virginia College and Career Ready Standards Giving parents and teachers more local control Increasing emphasis on career and technical training IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE Implementing solutions of the legislative audit of the Department of Highways Repairing our roads and infrastructure Expanding broadband COMBATING DRUGS Establishing an inter-agency state task force to coordinate all resources Focusing on enforcement, prevention, treatment and counseling Expanding upon the efforts of our successful drug courts.[5][6] |
” |
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.
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.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
As of this writing, Cole and his wife, Brownie, had four children.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Bill Cole' 'West Virginia' Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
- West Virginia state legislative districts
| West Virginia | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links
- Senate office website
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Bill Cole on Facebook
- Bill Cole on YouTube
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Member's Press Release," January 14, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 West Virginia State Legislature, "Biography - William P. Cole," accessed June 30, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed June 30, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ Bill Cole for Governor, "The Plan," accessed September 24, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Fanning (D) |
West Virginia State Senate District 6 2013-2017 |
Succeeded by Chandler Swope (R) |
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia House of Delegates District 24 May 2010 – November 2010 |
Succeeded by Marty Gearheart (R) |
| |||||||||||||
 |
State of West Virginia Charleston (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
