Erika Kolenich

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

Erika Kolenich

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Buckhannon Upshur High School

Bachelor's

West Virginia Wesleyan College, 2001

Law

University of Akron, 2004

Personal

Birthplace

Columbus, Ohio

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Erika Kolenich (Libertarian Party) ran for election for Governor of West Virginia. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Biography

Erika Kolenich was born in Columbus, Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2001 and a J.D. from the University of Akron in 2004. Her professional experience includes working as an attorney and managing member at Klie Law Offices, PLLC. As of 2024, Kolenich was affiliated with the West Virginia Association for Justice, Buckhannon Community Theatre, Colonial Arts Center, and Buckhannon Historic Landmarks Commission.

Elections

2024

See also: West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of West Virginia on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Morrisey (R)	62.0	459,300
		Steve Williams (D)	31.6	233,976
		Erika Kolenich (L)	2.9	21,228
		S. Marshall Wilson (Constitution Party)	2.3	16,828
		Chase Linko-Looper (Mountain Party)	1.3	9,596
	Submit photo	William Meadows (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	5
		Quintin Gerard Caldwell (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	3
	Submit photo	Troy Green (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	2

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 740,938
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia

Steve Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Williams	100.0	89,576

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,576
= 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.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Morrisey	33.3	75,146
		Moore Capito	27.5	62,224
		Chris Miller	20.4	46,062
		Mac Warner	16.0	36,199
	Submit photo	Mitch Roberts	1.4	3,142
		Kevin Christian	1.4	3,093

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 225,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John B. McCuskey (R)
• Rashida Yost (R)

Mountain Party primary election

Mountain Party primary for Governor of West Virginia

Chase Linko-Looper advanced from the Mountain Party primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chase Linko-Looper	100.0	382

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 382
= 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 Kolenich in this election.

2020

See also: West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2020

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of West Virginia on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Justice (R)	63.5	497,944
		Ben Salango (D)	30.2	237,024
		Erika Kolenich (L)	2.9	22,527
		S. Marshall Wilson (Independent) (Write-in)	1.9	15,120
		Daniel Lutz Jr. (Mountain Party)	1.4	11,309
		Michael Folk (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	199
	Submit photo	Mitch Roberts (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	152
		Quintin Gerard Caldwell (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	6
	Submit photo	Kimberly Gross (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	6

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 784,287
= 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

• David Sartin (Independent)
• Larry Trent (Constitution Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia

Ben Salango defeated Stephen Smith, Ron Stollings, Jody Murphy, and Douglas Hughes in the Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ben Salango	38.7	74,554
		Stephen Smith	33.8	65,056
		Ron Stollings	13.3	25,686
		Jody Murphy	9.3	17,968
	Submit photo	Douglas Hughes	4.8	9,201

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 192,465
= 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

• Cecil Silva (D)
• Edwin Ray Vanover (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Justice	62.8	133,026
		H. Woody Thrasher	18.3	38,796
		Michael Folk	12.5	26,461
	Submit photo	Doug Six	2.1	4,419
	Submit photo	Larry Brooke Lunsford	1.8	3,844
	Submit photo	Shelby Fitzhugh	1.3	2,762
		Charles Sheedy	1.2	2,535

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 211,843
= 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

• Rebecca Henderson (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of West Virginia

Erika Kolenich advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of West Virginia on April 8, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Erika Kolenich (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

Mountain Party convention

Mountain Party convention for Governor of West Virginia

Daniel Lutz Jr. advanced from the Mountain Party convention for Governor of West Virginia on June 20, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Daniel Lutz Jr. (Mountain Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 4, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

Erika is a resident of Upshur County where she lives with her husband, Karl. Their daughter, Iris, is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College and resides in Clarksburg. Erika was raised in West Virginia, the daughter of small business owners. Her parents taught her work ethic and personal responsibility at an early age. Erika graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1997. While attending high school, she was a member of the band and frequently participated in extracurricular events such as theatre and Youth in Government.

     Upon graduating high school, Erika attended West Virginia Wesleyan College where she double majored in Dramatic Arts and Political Science. She then attended law school at the University of Akron. 

    After passing both the Ohio and West Virginia bar exams, Erika returned to West Virginia and began practicing law at a litigation firm in Wheeling. Shortly thereafter, she made the jump to open her own practice in Upshur County. Erika is now the managing member of Klie Law Offices, PLLC. The firm that she now runs with her husband has three locations and employees thirty people.

Erika enjoys volunteering for a variety of community and civic organizations from theatre to Head Start and the Chamber of Commerce. In her free time Erika enjoys physical activity and hiking the mountains of West Virginia with her family and their dog. She also enjoys traveling but has always found that nothing feels better than returning home to West Vi

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 need to eliminate unnecessary business regulations and licensing in West Virginia. We do not have a level playing field for local businesses and large out of state companies that get courted by state officials to locate here. The government offers deals to large out of state corporations to lure them to our state and the taxpayers foot the bill for that. If we did not have regulation and taxes that made it overly restrictive for business to operate, we would have an environment that would naturally attract business.
• One of the biggest problems we face today is that many things that should not be considered crimes are labeled as crimes. Worse yet, many of these non-violent actions are punished more harshly than are violent crimes. Only actions that involve force or fraud

  should be labeled as “crimes”. Such crimes should

  be prosecuted and punished by our justice system but that actions that don't involve force or fraud should not be criminalized or penalized in the first place. Further, the "State of Emergency" and the resulting lawsuits in our jails is unacceptable.
• West Virginia's most important resource is our children. Education of our children is the cornerstone to our society. Parents and teachers are in the best position to determine the needs of our students. We must give teachers the ability to use their degrees in the classroom. Parents must have the full choice to determine which education is the best for their child and their family. Whether, this means public school, home school, a charter school, a private school or a co-op; the only job of the government should not stand in the way of education.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The Abuse and Neglect System

Criminal Justice Issues

Taxation

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

Integrity
Transparency

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

The first thing I remember happening in my life was meeting Santa Claus when I lived above a pizza shop my parents operated. I think I was around 5.

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

My first job was working for my parents at their convenient store. I worked there from the time I was in High School of and on until I became a lawyer.

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 website

Kolenich’s campaign website stated the following:

“	My Vision for West Virginia and How We Get it Done DEFEND THE GUARD It is essential that West Virginia pass the Defend the Guard legislation to ensure National Guard troops aren't deployed to foreign wars without a congressional declaration. The United States Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war. For decades, our National Guard has been sent overseas without this authorization. Defend the Guard stops this, preventing our troops from being used in unauthorized conflicts. West Virginia’s National Guard members are vital for local disaster relief. Deploying them abroad weakens our ability to handle emergencies at home. Defend the Guard keeps our troops ready to serve where they're needed most and saves the lives of our local men and women. Libertarians advocate for non-intervention and peace. Defend the Guard stands against unconstitutional wars and supports peace. It honors our troops, protects our communities, and upholds the Constitution. Join me in supporting Defend the Guard for a responsible, peaceful foreign policy. ASSET BASED DEVELOPMENT ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY AND RESTRICTIVE REGULATIONS CANNABIS PROTECTING PERSONAL LIBERTIES GETTING SPECIAL INTERESTS OUT OF POLITICS END THE WAR ON DRUGS CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM Far too many of West Virginia's tax dollars are spent pursuing, prosecuting and incarcerating non-violent "offenders" of victimless crimes. These policies should be eradicated and all such "offenders" released and pardoned. GUN RIGHTS AND OWNERSHIP The Second Amendment is deeply rooted in our history and The Bill of Rights. It shall not be infringed upon or limited. HEALTH CARE A free market health care system will drastically reduce the current costs to consumers. I support the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want, the type of health care they want, and to choose the providers they want. ELIMINATION OF THE PERSONAL INCOME TAX I plan to eliminate the personal income tax on individuals. INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES While other candidates prioritize the rights of some but not others, I believe that the equal rights of all people matter all the time. No exceptions. Each person has the same rights as any other. Race, gender, ethnic background, immigration status, occupation, education level, sexual orientation, religion, and other characteristics should have no bearing on our rights as free and independent people. The right of all to live in whatever manner they choose, as long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose. The government must treat all people fairly and equally before the law.	”
—Erika Kolenich’s campaign website (2024)

2020

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

Erika is a resident of Upshur County where she lives with her husband, Karl and their daughter, Iris. She was raised in West Virginia, the daughter of small business owners. Her parents taught her work ethic and personal responsibility at an early age. Erika graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1997. While attending high school, she was a member of the band and frequently participated in extracurricular events such as theatre and Youth in Government.

Upon graduating high school, Erika attended West Virginia Wesleyan College where she double majored in Dramatic Arts and Political Science. She then attended law school at the University of Akron.

After passing both the Ohio and West Virginia bar exams, Erika returned to West Virginia and began practicing law at a litigation firm in Wheeling. Shortly thereafter, she made the jump to open her own practice in Upshur County. Erika is now the managing member of Klie Law Offices, PLLC, a firm that focuses in employment litigation. She has devoted her career to representing West Virginians.

Erika enjoys volunteering for a variety of community and civic organizations from theatre to Head Start and the Chamber of Commerce. In her free time Erika enjoys physical activity and hiking the mountains of West Virginia with her family and their dog. She also enjoys traveling but has always found that nothing feels better than returning home to West Virginia.

Upon graduating high school, Erika attended West Virginia Wesleyan College where she double majored in Dramatic Arts and Political Science. She then attended law school at the University of Akron.

After passing both the Ohio and West Virginia bar exams, Erika returned to West Virginia and began practicing law at a litigation firm in Wheeling. Shortly thereafter, she made the jump to open her own practice in Upshur County. Erika is now the managing member of Klie Law Offices, PLLC, a firm that focuses in employment litigation. She has devoted her career to representing West Virginians.

Erika enjoys volunteering for a variety of community and civic organizations from theatre to Head Start and the Chamber of Commerce. In her free time Erika enjoys physical activity and hiking the mountains of West Virginia with her family and their dog. She also enjoys traveling but has always found that nothing feels better than returning home to 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?

• People before Politics

• Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom

• All of your Freedoms all of the time

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am running because I am frustrated with politics. The Democrats and Republicans have become consumed with party politics and party agendas and not with representing West Virginians. Failure to compromise is crippling our state. Both parties have run the State and both parties have put West Virginia almost last on every list. I am running to clear our path to success by removing whats holding us back.

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

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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.

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Erika Kolenich campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Governor of West Virginia	Lost general	$39,233	$32,973
Grand total			$39,233	$32,973
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

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