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Michael Ihle
Michael Ihle (b. December 4, 1986) is a former Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 13 from 2014 to 2016.
Ihle also served as the mayor of Ravenswood, West Virginia. He was elected in 2012 with 63 percent of the vote, defeating two-term incumbent Lucy Harbert. His term expired on July 1, 2016.[1]
Biography
Ihle grew up in West Virginia graduating from Ravenswood High School in 2003. He received his B.A. in political science from Fort Hays State University in 2016.[1][2]
Professionally, Ihle has worked at the Ravenswood Foodfair, as a team leader for the U.S. Census Bureau and as a health insurance agent.[2]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Ihle served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Government Organization |
| • Industry and Labor |
| • Political Subdivisions |
Campaign themes
2014
Ihle submitted the following statement to Ballotpedia:[2]
| “ | I am a liberty Republican who is tired of seeing West Virginia ranked last in everything good. My town is just one of many in a state that over regulates its people, overtaxes its businesses, and is one of the least prosperous. So, I’m running for House to change that--for my community and everyone else's.[3] | ” |
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
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 Scott Cadle (R) did not seek re-election.
Scott Brewer and Joshua Higginbotham defeated Rosalee Juba-Plumley and incumbent Michael Ihle in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 13 general election.[4][5]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 13, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Scott Brewer |
27.86% | 6,541 | |
| Republican | Joshua Higginbotham |
28.20% | 6,622 | |
| Democratic | Rosalee Juba-Plumley | 19.59% | 4,599 | |
| Republican | Michael Ihle Incumbent | 24.36% | 5,720 | |
| Total Votes | 23,482 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Scott Brewer and Rosalee Juba-Plumley defeated George A. Thaxton and Marla Ingels in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 13 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 13, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Scott Brewer |
37.17% | 2,788 | |
| Democratic | Rosalee Juba-Plumley |
22.23% | 1,667 | |
| Democratic | George A. Thaxton | 21.83% | 1,637 | |
| Democratic | Marla Ingels | 18.77% | 1,408 | |
| Total Votes | 7,500 | |||
Joshua Higginbotham and incumbent Michael Ihle defeated Amanda Cadle, Kathie Hess Crouse and Robert Marchal in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 13 Republican primary.[6][7]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 13, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Joshua Higginbotham |
24.62% | 1,813 | |
| Republican | Michael Ihle Incumbent |
24.30% | 1,789 | |
| Republican | Amanda Cadle | 15.52% | 1,143 | |
| Republican | Kathie Hess Crouse | 18.28% | 1,346 | |
| Republican | Robert Marchal | 17.28% | 1,272 | |
| Total Votes | 7,363 | |||
Primary race background
- Main article: West Virginia races we're watching, 2016
Three of the Republican candidates, Ihle, Crouse and Higginbotham, attended a candidate forum in April 2016 to discuss their campaign issues. The three candidates supported a state-level version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in order to protect the religious freedom of private companies. Higginbotham, a 19-year-old college student, said the legislation would help protect "religious minorities"; Crouse, a microbiologist, said she would have voted for a religious freedom bill as a state delegate.[8]
Other issues discussed at the forum included West Virginia's tobacco tax; Ihle, Crouse and Higginbotham opposed raising the state tobacco tax in order to balance the state's budget. The three candidates also supported the state legislature's approval of a voter ID bill requiring voters to present photo identification before they could vote.[8]
2014
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates 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. District 13 is represented by two delegates. Joshua R. Martin and Josh McGrath defeated Rosalee Juba-Plumley in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Scott Cadle and Michael Ihle defeated Nate Westfall and Tim Gibson in the Republican primary. Cadle and Ihle defeated Martin and McGrath in the general election. Jim Dagostine (D) withdrew before the primary.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Scott Cadle Incumbent |
32.8% | 5,544 | |
| Republican | Michael Ihle |
28.6% | 4,837 | |
| Democratic | Joshua R. Martin | 21.1% | 3,567 | |
| Democratic | Josh McGrath | 17.4% | 2,942 | |
| Total Votes | 16,890 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Joshua R. Martin |
43.8% | 1,279 |
| Josh McGrath |
29.9% | 874 |
| Rosalee Juba-Plumley | 26.3% | 769 |
| Total Votes | 2,922 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Scott Cadle Incumbent |
32.4% | 1,032 |
| Michael Ihle |
24.9% | 794 |
| Tim Gibson | 22.6% | 720 |
| Nate Westfall | 20.2% | 643 |
| Total Votes | 3,189 | |
2012
Ihle was elected mayor of Ravenswood, West Virginia in 2012 by winning 63 percent of the vote. He defeated two-term incumbent Democrat Lucy Harbert.[11]
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.
|
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Michael + Ihle + West + Virginia + House"
See also
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia state legislative districts
- West Virginia House of Delegates
- West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2014
- West Virginia House Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
External links
- Profile from the West Virginia House of Delegates
- Official campaign website
- Michael Ihle on Facebook
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Project Vote Smart
- West Virginia State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on April 13, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on March 26, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Charleston Gazette-Mail, "GOP House candidates back religious freedom bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ WCHS, "The Vote 2012: The West Virginia Primary Returns," accessed March 30, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brady Paxton (D) |
West Virginia House of Delegates District 13 2012-2016 |
Succeeded by Scott Brewer (D) Joshua Higginbotham (R) |
