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Mike Stuart (West Virginia)
Mike Stuart (Republican Party) is a member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 7. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.
Stuart (Republican Party) ran for election for Attorney General of West Virginia. He lost in the Republican primary on May 14, 2024.
Biography
Mike Stuart was born in Philippi, West Virginia.[1] Stuart earned a bachelor's degree from the University of West Virginia and a J.D. from Boston University. Before obtaining his law degree, Stuart's career experience included working as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After law school, Stuart began a law career as an attorney, including as a partner.[2][3]
Stuart was the chairman of the Republican Party of West Virginia.[4] During the 2016 presidential primaries, Stuart served as the West Virginia state co-chair for Donald Trump.[1]
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.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Stuart was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
- General Laws and Technology Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
- Senate Economic Development Committee
- Energy, Industry and Mining Committee
- Senate Government Organization Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Outdoor Recreation Committee
- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Vice Chair
Elections
2024
See also: West Virginia Attorney General election, 2024
General election
General election for Attorney General of West Virginia
John B. McCuskey defeated Teresa Toriseva in the general election for Attorney General of West Virginia on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John B. McCuskey (R) | 70.0 | 501,452 |
 | Teresa Toriseva (D) | 30.0 | 214,654 | |
| Total votes: 716,106 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of West Virginia
Teresa Toriseva defeated Richie Robb in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Teresa Toriseva | 52.7 | 50,480 |
 | Richie Robb | 47.3 | 45,356 | |
| Total votes: 95,836 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of West Virginia
John B. McCuskey defeated Mike Stuart in the Republican primary for Attorney General of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John B. McCuskey | 59.8 | 117,263 |
 | Mike Stuart | 40.2 | 78,745 | |
| Total votes: 196,008 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ryan Weld (R)
Endorsements
Stuart received the following endorsements.
- Christopher Rose (R) - State Sen. cand.
2022
See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for West Virginia State Senate District 7
Mike Stuart defeated incumbent Ron Stollings in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Stuart (R) | 58.2 | 13,242 |
 | Ron Stollings (D) | 41.8 | 9,526 | |
| Total votes: 22,768 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 7
Incumbent Ron Stollings advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 7 on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Stollings | 100.0 | 4,962 |
| Total votes: 4,962 | |||
| = 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 West Virginia State Senate District 7
Mike Stuart defeated Chad McCormick in the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 7 on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Stuart | 52.2 | 2,487 |
| Chad McCormick | 47.8 | 2,278 | ||
| Total votes: 4,765 | |||
| = 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
Mike Stuart did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Mike Stuart completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stuart's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I’ve already been endorsed by President Trump- as his personal pick for United States Attorney, the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official in the judicial district. I am proud that I was personally chosen as the United States Attorney by President Trump, confirmed by the United States Senate including with the support of Senator Manchin and Senator Capito, and served as a member of the Trump Administration.
I am Pro-Family, Pro-2nd Amendment, Pro-Faith, Pro-Parent/Student/Teacher, Pro-American energy, Pro-Law enforcement, Pro-Veteran, Pro-Border Wall and Pro-America, Pro-Freedom and Pro-Liberty. I support President Trump's America First Agenda. I support the development of America's remarkable energy reserves and believe we need a strategy of "all the above" with coal and natural gas from beneath our feet being produced in support of our jobs and national security.- I believe in an America First agenda in support of American jobs and domestic development of manufacturing, energy and services.
- I believe that American energy independence is critically important for good jobs but also for our national security. President Biden's radical "new greed deal" energy policies are bad for the nation. Cutting American energy while seeking energy resources from despots, tyrants and dictators makes no sense. We need to safely "drill, frack and mine" the energy beneath our feet for good WV jobs and to strengthen our national security.
- Parents Matter! For too long, parents have been placed on the sidelines when it comes to education policy in America. Politicians and unelected bureaucrats have played to dominant a role in our children's education . It is important that parents be prioritized in the system. There is nothing more powerful that a motivated student with a committed parent in a classroom with a dedicated teacher. Our goal should be educational attainment- not politics.
I am also passionate about rooting out corruption. As the United States Attorney, I led the historic prosecution of two of the five members of the WV State Supreme Court. I also prosecuted the former Logan County Superintendent of Schools. We need stronger ethics and anti-corruption laws. As I said many times as the US Attorney, "There is no such thing as a little bit of public corruption."
My mom and dad are young. My mom is barley 17 years older than me and my dad a year more than that. My dad worked the coal mines for more than fifty year. My mom went to vocational school and earned her LPN degree and practices as a nurse for nearly 30 years.
My dad is the type of man that goes to work in the dark and comes home in the dark. He is one of those guys that looks forward to getting home from vacation more than going on vacation. Seven days a week, often 12-15 hours a day, my dad worked the coal fields to provide for my sister and me. No matter how hard it was on my mom and dad, there was always a lot of presents under the Christmas tree and a lot of love in our household.
My mom and dad, despite their crazy work schedules, hardly ever missed a school or sports event. They were always there even when I sat the bench. I always know that I had their unconditional support and love growing up. Although it was hard, they provided me every possible opportunity.
I spent my life with people telling me what I couldn’t do- “you can’t go to college; you can’t grow up the be the Chair of the State Republican Party; you can’t Chair a future President’s statewide campaign; you can’t be an accountant or an attorney or, for goodness sakes, the United States Attorney; you can’t make a difference and you definitely can’t change West Virginia.” Well, I like proving people wrong. I did and am doing all those things. I like the saying, “You are only as big as the dream you dare to live.” I believe our destiny is only limited by the size of our dreams.
In terms of my professional legacy, I don't really care. If I am to be remembered for anything, I hope it is that I was willing to fight for those things I believed were important. I’ve already been endorsed by President Trump- as his personal pick for United States Attorney, the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official in the judicial district. I am proud that I was personally chosen as the United States Attorney by President Trump, confirmed by the United States Senate including with the support of Senator Manchin and Senator Capito, and served as a member of the Trump Administration. Democrat, Republican, Independent- everyone acknowledges I was a good and effective United States Attorney. I broke records. I rebuilt the operations. I aggressively attacked corruption including prosecuting two of the five members of the West Virginia Supreme Court. I reasserted a focus on the rule of law. And I always, always, always “Backed the Blue.” I even proposed the “Back the Blue” license plate and, after it was approved by the Legislature, I was honored by law enforcement with Back the Blue license plate, number “0001.”
I was working in Boston at the time, on State Street, near all the trading windows for the stock exchanges and near the wharf district. I distinctly remember as I was sitting at my desk in my office that my secretary ran down the hallway stating, "A plane has hit the world trade center." I remember thinking that was horrible but I was thinking it was a small Cessna that went off course and crashed. Little did I know at the time that it was a full attack on the nation.
A short time later, the internet and our phone system was having trouble. We soon realized that it was two full-size commercial planes that flew directly int the World Trade towers. We were all evacuated to the streets in Boston. I will never forget the tens of thousands of people on the streets of Boston and the trading windows all turned to the World Trade Centers. We all watched is confusion at the events before our eyes. I will never ever forget the sounds on the streets of Boston when that first tower fell- an immediate rash of screams followed by dead silence and disbelief. Absolute dead cold silence.
When we returned to our office building, all of us joined in the conference rooms to watch events unfold. The second tower fell and then the assault on the Pentagon. It was too much to comprehend. Being in Boston, a place with more than 70 colleges and universities with a large international student population, we were all evacuated from our towers to the streets.
I spent my life with people telling me what I couldn’t do- “you can’t go to college; you can’t grow up the be the Chair of the State Republican Party; you can’t Chair a future President’s statewide campaign; you can’t be an accountant or an attorney or, for goodness sakes, the United States Attorney; you can’t make a difference and you definitely can’t change West Virginia.” Well, I like proving people wrong. I did and am doing all those things.
It is important to find the proper balance. A good Governor proposes legislation and works with legislators to enact that legislation often in compromised form. A good Governor also empowers those around him/her and Legislators to initiate and advocate their own policies in the interests of good government.
West Virginia is the only state in the country to lose population over the past 50 years. There has been a brain drain and a key loss of population across West Virginia.
I have literally hundreds of impactful stories of the victims I sought to protect and defend as the United States Attorney. Domestic violence victims, elder fraud victims, overdose victims, etc. - those sotries will inspire me the rest of my days.
Good policy doesn't get made in a vacuum. The best policy is probably that policy not loved or hated by any ideological side. The art of compromise is a lost art. We view compromise in punitive terms. We must appreciate that compromise doesn't mean losing.
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.
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
RNC Rules Committee
- See also: RNC Rules Committee, 2016
Stuart was a member of the RNC Rules Committee, a 112-member body responsible for crafting the official rules of the Republican Party, including the rules that governed the 2016 Republican National Convention.[5]
Appointment process
The convention Rules Committee in 2016 consisted of one male and one female delegate from each state and territorial delegation. The Rules of the Republican Party required each delegation to elect from its own membership representatives to serve on the Rules Committee.
Delegate rules
District-level and at-large delegates from West Virginia were elected directly by voters in the state's primary election on May 10, 2016. Delegates were allowed to run as unpledged delegates or to designate a candidate to whom they wished to be bound at the national convention.
West Virginia primary results
| West Virginia Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
 Donald Trump |
77.1% | 157,238 | 30 | |
| Ted Cruz | 9% | 18,301 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 6.7% | 13,721 | 1 | |
| Ben Carson | 2.2% | 4,421 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 1.4% | 2,908 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 1.1% | 2,305 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.9% | 1,798 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.9% | 1,780 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.4% | 727 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.3% | 659 | 0 | |
| David Hall | 0.1% | 203 | 0 | |
| Totals | 204,061 | 31 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Delegate allocation
West Virginia had 34 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, nine were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's three congressional districts) and 22 served as at-large delegates. According to the Republican National Committee, West Virginia's district and at-large delegates were "elected on the primary ballot and [may have specified an] intention to be committed to a candidate."[6][7]
In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary.[6][7]
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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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.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 11.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Attorney General of West Virginia |
Officeholder West Virginia State Senate District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 21, 2022
- ↑ Steptoe Johnson PLLC, "Michael B. Stuart," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Mike Stuart," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ Your Ohio Valley, "Mike Stuart to resign from WV Republican Party," March 29, 2012
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of 2016 RNC Rules Committee members is based on an official list from the Republican National Committee obtained by Ballotpedia on June 24, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ron Stollings (D) |
West Virginia State Senate District 7 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
 |
State of West Virginia Charleston (capital) |
|---|---|
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