Ed Gaunch
Ed Gaunch was the West Virginia Secretary of Commerce. Gaunch assumed office on January 10, 2019. Gaunch left office on July 15, 2022.
Gaunch (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the West Virginia State Senate to represent District 8. Gaunch lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Gaunch is a former member of the West Virginia State Senate. He served from 2014 through 2018. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Biography
Gaunch is the former president/CEO of Carson Insurance Agency. He graduated from West Virginia State University in 1970.[1]
Political career
West Virginia Secretary of Commerce (2019 - 2022)
Gaunch was appointed West Virginia Secretary of Commerce by Governor Jim Justice (R) on December 4, 2018, and took office in January 2019.[2] Gaunch retired from the position on July 15, 2022.[3]
West Virginia State Senate (2014-2018)
Gaunch served as a Republican member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 8, from 2014 through 2018. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance, Chair |
| • Confirmations |
| • Energy, Industry and Mining |
| • Enrolled Bills |
| • Finance |
| • Government Organization, Vice chair |
| • Pensions, Chair |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Gaunch served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance, Vice-Chair |
| • Enrolled Bills, Vice-Chair |
| • Government Organization |
| • Health and Human Resources |
| • Interstate Cooperation, Chair |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Pensions, Chair |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
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
2018
General election
General election for West Virginia State Senate District 8
Richard Lindsay defeated incumbent Ed Gaunch in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Richard Lindsay (D) | 50.3 | 16,537 |
 | Ed Gaunch (R) | 49.7 | 16,372 | |
| Total votes: 32,909 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = 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 State Senate District 8
Richard Lindsay defeated Mark Hunt in the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Lindsay | 51.7 | 4,721 |
 | Mark Hunt | 48.3 | 4,407 | |
| Total votes: 9,128 | |||
| = 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
- Paul Denning (D)
- David Grubb (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8
Incumbent Ed Gaunch advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ed Gaunch |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014. Incumbent Erik P. Wells was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ed Gaunch was unopposed in the Republican primary. Gaunch defeated Wells and Mike Fisher (Constitution) in the general election.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Ed Gaunch |
53% | 14,094 | |
| Democratic | Erik P. Wells Incumbent | 43.1% | 11,472 | |
| Constitution | Mike Fisher | 3.9% | 1,041 | |
| Total Votes | 26,607 | |||
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.
2018
In 2018, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 10.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 8 through April 9. The legislature held a special session from May 4 to June 26. The legislature held its second special session from August 1 to September 15.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 12.
|
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.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state Senate, Gaunch lived in Charleston with his wife, Marilyn. They had two children and five grandchildren.[6]
See also
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia State Senate District 8
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
External links
|
Candidate West Virginia State Senate District 8 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Governor.WV.gov, "Gov. Justice appoints Gaunch as new Secretary of Commerce, December 4, 2018
- ↑ The West Virginia Daily News, "Gov. Justice congratulates and thanks Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch for his service," June 27, 2022
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed February 7, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Ed Gaunch for State Senate," accessed March 10, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by W. Clayton Burch |
West Virginia Secretary of Commerce 2019-2022 |
Succeeded by James Bailey |
| Preceded by W. Clayton Burch |
West Virginia Secretary of Commerce 2019-2022 |
Succeeded by James Bailey |
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia State Senate District 8 2015-2018 |
Succeeded by Richard Lindsay (D) |
| ||||||||||||||
