Doug Smith (West Virginia)

Doug Smith

Republican Party

West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Dana Ferrell

Prior offices

West Virginia House of Delegates District 27

---

Compensation

Base salary

$20,000/year

Per diem

$75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily.

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Wichita State University, 1989

Graduate

U.S. Army War College, 2012

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1984 - 2018

Years of service

1984 - 2018

Personal

Birthplace

Waterloo, Iowa

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Retired

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Doug Smith (Republican Party) is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 39. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.

Smith (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the West Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 39. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Doug Smith was born in Waterloo, Iowa. Smith served in the United States Army from 1984 to 2018. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Wichita State University in 1989, an M.P.A. in criminal justice from City University at Bellevue, in 2006, and a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in 2012. Smith's career experience includes working as a military police officer in the U.S. Army.

Smith has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
• Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
• Reserve Officers Association (ROA)
• North American Hunting Club
• NRA
• WV Citizens Defense League
• Bluefield Mercer Lodge No 85

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
• House Education Committee
• House Government Organization Committee
• Jails and Prisons
• Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee

2021-2022

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• House Education Committee
• House Government Organization Committee
• Senior, Children, and Family Issues Committee
• Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee

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

2024

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2024

General election

General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Incumbent Doug Smith defeated Neal Vestal in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Smith (R)	81.2	5,958
		Neal Vestal (D)	18.8	1,378

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,336
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Neal Vestal advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Neal Vestal	100.0	630

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 630
= 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 West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Incumbent Doug Smith advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Smith	100.0	2,224

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,224
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.

Pledges

Smith signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2022

General election

General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Incumbent Doug Smith won election in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Smith (R)	100.0	3,992

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,992
= 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 West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Incumbent Doug Smith advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 on May 10, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Smith	100.0	1,133

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,133
= 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.

2020

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2020

General election

General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 (3 seats)

Doug Smith, Marty Gearheart, and incumbent Joe Ellington defeated Tina Russell in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Doug Smith (R)	28.3	12,964
✔		Marty Gearheart (R)	28.1	12,853
✔		Joe Ellington (R)	27.0	12,370
	Submit photo	Tina Russell (D)	16.7	7,629

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,816
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 (3 seats)

Tina Russell advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tina Russell	100.0	4,005

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,005
= 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 West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 (3 seats)

Marty Gearheart, incumbent Joe Ellington, and Doug Smith defeated Jeremiah Nelson and incumbent Eric Porterfield in the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marty Gearheart	27.6	4,203
✔		Joe Ellington	25.2	3,827
✔		Doug Smith	20.1	3,053
	Submit photo	Jeremiah Nelson	13.8	2,100
	Submit photo	Eric Porterfield	13.3	2,022

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,205
= 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

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Doug Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith'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.

Doug Smith is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with a distinguished Military career spanning 34 years as a Military Police Officer. Doug has spent his life fighting for our country, serving in Korea, Central America, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Iraq, and all over the United States. He is honored to have received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Combat Action Badge during his time fighting terrorism

Doug is a Republican from Mercer County and is a conservative fighter who is a proud supporter of our 2nd Amendment and a PRO-BUSINESS candidate who will work with job-creators to make West Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

"I believe Southern West Virginia deserves a common sense conservative representative who will provide a voice to the citizens by creating better jobs, fixing our roads, fighting the drug epidemic, building a disciplined education system, and eliminating oversized bureaucracy in government. I would be honored to be your voice for Southern West Virginia."

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?

• Common Sense Conservative
• We Must Create a "Business-Friendly Environment"
• We Must Create "Quality Jobs"

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

PRO-BUSINESS

- "Quality Jobs" - Ensure West Virginians can provide for their families.
- "Business-Friendly Environment" - Positive tax and regulatory climate to encourage business growth.
- "Improve Broadband Infrastructure". Broadband is essential economic infrastructure.

PRO-2ND AMENDMENT
- Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
- Support Concealed Carry Rights.
- Defend Gun Owner rights

DISCIPLINED EDUCATION SYSTEM
- Reduce bureaucracy - Too many administrators to student ratio.
- Effective teachers should be identified and rewarded on merit, not tenure.

PRO-LIFE
- Abortion should never be used as a form of birth control.

- I believe in exceptions for life of the mother, rape, and incest.

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

Honesty and Integrity!

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

Common Sense and Ability to Compromise.

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

- Keep their word.

- Able to compromise.

- Serve the people, not yourself.

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

Vietnam - Age 5 to 7

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

Summer jobs working on farms..

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Ability to compromise.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

- Continued loss of population from the state.

- Lack of highly skilled, high paying jobs.

- Continued underperformance of children in the education system.

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

Previous experience in government or politics is not required however it can benefit a newly elected politician.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely it is critical to build relationships with other legislators. Personal relationships allow for compromise and help in getting the votes for key legislation.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Every Governor should be granted the ability to use emergency powers however, there have to be laws and regulations that constrain and limit how long and what those powers are.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

Have already had a number of bills passed since first elected. Will continue to work on the following bills:

- Increased Penalties for Child Abuse
- Real Property (House/land) Tax break for Widowed Spouses of Deceased Veterans.

- Voluntary Concealed Carry for Trained and Certified Teachers in K-12.

What committees interest you?

- Rule Making Review (Current WV House Chairman)

- Government Organization.
- Education

- Veterans Affairs

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

- Transparency in government is required not only on finances, it is required in all actions of legislators.
- Legislators (Politicians) are accountable to the the people, not the government.

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.

2022

Doug Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Doug Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith'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.

Doug Smith is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with a distinguished Military career spanning 34 years as a Military Police Officer. Doug has spent his life fighting for our country, serving in Korea, Central America, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Iraq, and all over the United States. He is honored to have received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Combat Action Badge during his time fighting terrorism

Doug is a Republican from Mercer County and is a conservative fighter who is a proud supporter of our 2nd Amendment and a PRO-BUSINESS candidate who will work with job-creators to make West Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

"I believe Southern West Virginia deserves a conservative representative who will provide a voice to the citizens by creating better jobs, fixing our roads, fighting the drug epidemic, building a disciplined education system, and eliminating oversized bureaucracy in government. I would be honored to be your voice for Southern West Virginia."

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?

• We Must Create "Quality Jobs"
• We Must Create a "Business-Friendly Environment"
• We Must "Reduce Bureaucracy In State Government"

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

PRO-BUSINESS

- We Must Create "Quality Jobs" - Ensure West Virginians can provide for their families.
- We Must Create a "Business-Friendly Environment" - Create positive tax and regulatory climate to encourage business growth and attract outside business to our state.
- We Must "Improve Broadband Infrastructure". Broadband is the essential economic infrastructure that Southern West Virginia needs to compete regionally, nationally, and globally.

PRO-2ND AMENDMENT
- Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
- Support Concealed Carry Rights.
- Defend Gun Owner rights
- National Right to Carry

DISCIPLINED EDUCATION SYSTEM
- Reduce bureaucracy - Shift more public education funding to the classroom (too many administrators to student ratio).
- Effective teachers should be identified and rewarded on merit, not tenure.
- Building a better local economy is essential for improved teacher salaries, first-class school facilities, and attracting quality teachers.

PRO-LIFE
- Abortion should never be used as a form of birth control.

- I believe in exceptions when life of the mother is endangered or pregnancy resulting from incest or rape.

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

Vietnam War (Age 5-7)

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

Worked on farms during the summer starting at age 12 through age 16.

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.

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.

---

Doug Smith campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	West Virginia House of Delegates District 39	Won general	$6,204	$2,965
2022	West Virginia House of Delegates District 39	Won general	$7,718	$4,110
2020	West Virginia House of Delegates District 27	Won general	$19,941	N/A**
Grand total			$33,863	$7,075
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in West Virginia

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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 9. A special session began on September 30 and adjourned on October 8. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. West Virginia Citizen's Defense League Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 11. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 10 to April 10. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. West Virginia Manufacturers Association Legislators are scored on their votes on the manufacturing industry. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

See also

2024 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

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Website

Facebook

Officeholder

West Virginia House of Delegates District 39

Website

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Dana Ferrell (R)	West Virginia House of Delegates District 39 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	West Virginia House of Delegates District 27 2020-2022	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the West Virginia House of Delegates

Leadership

Minority Leader:Sean Hornbuckle

Representatives

District 1

Pat McGeehan (R)

District 2

Mark Zatezalo (R)

District 3

Jimmy Willis (R)

District 4

Bill Flanigan (R)

District 5

Shawn Fluharty (D)

District 6

Jeffrey Stephens (R)

District 7

Charles Sheedy (R)

District 8

Bill Bell (R)

District 9

Trenton Barnhart (R)

District 10

Everette Anderson (R)

District 11

Bob Fehrenbacher (R)

District 12

Vernon Criss (R)

District 13

Scot Heckert (R)

District 14

Dave Foggin (R)

District 15

Erica Moore (R)

District 16

Joe Parsons (R)

District 17

Jonathan Pinson (R)

District 18

Jim Butler (R)

District 19

Kathie Crouse (R)

District 20

Sarah Drennan (R)

District 21

Jarred Cannon (R)

District 22

Daniel Linville (R)

District 23

Evan Worrell (R)

District 24

Patrick Lucas (R)

District 25

Sean Hornbuckle (D)

District 26

Matthew Rohrbach (R)

District 27

Michael Amos (R)

District 28

Ryan Browning (R)

District 29

Henry Dillon (R)

District 30

Jeff Eldridge (R)

District 31

Margitta Mazzocchi (R)

District 32

Josh Holstein (R)

District 33

Jordan Bridges (R)

District 34

Mark Dean (R)

District 35

Adam Vance (R)

District 36

S. Green (R)

District 37

Marty Gearheart (R)

District 38

Joe Ellington (R)

District 39

Doug Smith (R)

District 40

Roy Cooper (R)

District 41

Jordan Maynor (R)

District 42

Brandon Steele (R)

District 43

Christopher Toney (R)

District 44

Carl Roop (R)

District 45

Eric Brooks (R)

District 46

Jeff Campbell (R)

District 47

Denny Canterbury (R)

District 48

Gregory Watt (R)

District 49

Stanley Adkins (R)

District 50

David Pritt (R)

District 51

Marshall Clay (R)

District 52

Tresa Howell (R)

District 53

Tristan Leavitt (R)

District 54

Mike Pushkin (D)

District 55

JB Akers (R)

District 56

Kayla Young (D)

District 57

Hollis Lewis (D)

District 58

Walter Hall (R)

District 59

Andy Shamblin (R)

District 60

Dana Ferrell (R)

District 61

Dean Jeffries (R)

District 62

Roger Hanshaw (R)

District 63

Lori Cowger Dittman (R)

District 64

Adam Burkhammer (R)

District 65

Carl Martin (R)

District 66

Jonathan Kyle (R)

District 67

Elias Coop-Gonzalez (R)

District 68

Chris Phillips (R)

District 69

Keith Marple (R)

District 70

Mickey Petitto (R)

District 71

Laura Kimble (R)

District 72

Clay Riley (R)

District 73

Bryan Smith (R)

District 74

Mike DeVault (R)

District 75

Phil Mallow (R)

District 76

Rick Garcia (D)

District 77

Joe Statler (R)

District 78

Eugene Chiarelli (R)

District 79

Evan Hansen (D)

District 80

John Williams (D)

District 81

Anitra Hamilton (D)

District 82

David McCormick (R)

District 83

George Street (R)

District 84

D.R. Jennings (R)

District 85

John Paul Hott (R)

District 86

Bryan Ward (R)

District 87

Gary Howell (R)

District 88

Rick Hillenbrand (R)

District 89

David Cannon (R)

District 90

George Miller (R)

District 91

Ian Masters (R)

District 92

Michael Hite (R)

District 93

Michael Hornby (R)

District 94

Larry Kump (R)

District 95

Charles Horst (R)

District 96

Lisa White (R)

District 97

S. Anders (R)

District 98

Joe Funkhouser (R)

District 99

Wayne Clark (R)

District 100

William Ridenour (R)

Republican Party (91)

Democratic Party (9)