Paul Espinosa

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Paul Espinosa
Image of Paul Espinosa

Republican Party

Prior offices
West Virginia House of Delegates District 66
Successor: William Nestor
West Virginia House of Delegates District 98
Successor: Joe Funkhouser
Elections and appointments
Last election

May 14, 2024

Education

High school

Jefferson High School, 1980

Bachelor's

West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1984

Personal
Birthplace
Ranson, W.Va.
Religion
Roman Catholic
Profession
Public Affairs Manager
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal YouTube

Personal LinkedIn

Paul Espinosa (Republican Party) was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 98. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. He left office on October 8, 2024.

Espinosa (Republican Party) ran for election to the West Virginia State Senate to represent District 16. He lost in the Republican primary on May 14, 2024.

Biography

Paul Espinosa was born in Ranson, West Virginia. Espinosa graduated from Jefferson High School in 1980. He earned a B. A. from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1984. His career experience includes working as a public affairs manager at Rockwool North America, assistant vice president and commercial loan officer at CNB Bank, and general manager at Frontier Communications.[1][2]

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

Espinosa was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Espinosa was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Espinosa was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

West Virginia committee assignments, 2017
• Education, Chair
• Finance
• Roads and Transportation
• Rules
• Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Espinosa served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Espinosa served on the following committees:

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 State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 16

Incumbent Patricia Rucker defeated John Doyle in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Patricia Rucker
Patricia Rucker (R)
 
60.0
 
31,003
Image of John Doyle
John Doyle (D)
 
40.0
 
20,645

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 51,648
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 16

John Doyle advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 16 on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of John Doyle
John Doyle
 
100.0
 
4,431

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

Total votes: 4,431
Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate District 16

Incumbent Patricia Rucker defeated Paul Espinosa in the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 16 on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Patricia Rucker
Patricia Rucker
 
51.1
 
5,193
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa
 
48.9
 
4,963

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,156
Candidate Connection = 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 Espinosa in this election.

2022

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2022

General election

General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 98

Incumbent Paul Espinosa won election in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 98 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa (R)
 
100.0
 
3,681

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,681
Candidate Connection = 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 98

Incumbent Paul Espinosa advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 98 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa
 
100.0
 
985

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 985
Candidate Connection = 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 66

Incumbent Paul Espinosa defeated Storme Shiley Frame in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa (R)
 
60.9
 
5,258
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Storme Shiley Frame (D)
 
39.1
 
3,370

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,628
Candidate Connection = 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 66

Storme Shiley Frame advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Storme Shiley Frame
 
100.0
 
1,428

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

Total votes: 1,428
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66

Incumbent Paul Espinosa advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa
 
100.0
 
1,496

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,496
Candidate Connection = 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.

2018

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2018

General election

General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66

Incumbent Paul Espinosa defeated David Dinges in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa (R)
 
57.8
 
3,817
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
David Dinges (D)
 
42.2
 
2,787

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,604
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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 66

David Dinges advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
David Dinges

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

Candidate Connection = 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 66

Incumbent Paul Espinosa defeated Reese Clabaugh in the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Paul Espinosa
Paul Espinosa
 
62.9
 
873
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Reese Clabaugh
 
37.1
 
515

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 1,388
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates 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 Paul Espinosa defeated David Dinges in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 general election.[3][4]

West Virginia House of Delegates District 66, General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Espinosa Incumbent 65.97% 5,050
     Democratic David Dinges 34.03% 2,605
Total Votes 7,655
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State


David Dinges ran unopposed in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 Democratic primary.[5][6]

West Virginia House of Delegates District 66, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png David Dinges  (unopposed)


Incumbent Paul Espinosa ran unopposed in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 66 Republican primary.[5][6]

West Virginia House of Delegates District 66, Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Paul Espinosa Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 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. Incumbent Paul Espinosa was unopposed in the Republican primary. Daniel Lutz, Jr. ran as a Mountain party candidate. Espinosa defeated Lutz in the general election.[7]

West Virginia House of Delegates District 66, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Espinosa Incumbent 77.8% 3,074
     Mountain Daniel Lutz, Jr. 22.2% 876
Total Votes 3,950

2012

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2012

Espinosa won election in the 2012 election for West Virginia House of Delegates, District 66. Espinosa ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and defeated John Reese Maxey in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9][10]

West Virginia House of Delegates, District 66, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Espinosa 59.6% 4,233
     Democratic John Reese Maxey 40.4% 2,875
Total Votes 7,108

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Paul Espinosa did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Paul Espinosa did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Paul Espinosa did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Espinosa's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“
  • Job Creation - Through tax reform, reducing government bureaucracy, cutting regulatory red tape, and stopping lawsuit abuse, we can attract quality businesses and good-paying jobs to our state.
  • Big Government​ ​- Since 1990, the size of our state government has tripled while our population has barely increased. We can't allow government to grow faster than the taxpayers' ability to pay for it.
  • Education - I believe it's critical that we empower our local school boards, our principals, our teachers, and our parents to make decisions that will ensure that our citizens and our students are receiving the return on investment that they expect and deserve.
  • Government Transparency & Accountability - West Virginians rightfully expect a state government that understands it works for the people and not the other way around. I'll continue to demand accountability and transparency across state government and my efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse through regular comprehensive audits.[11]
 ”
—Paul Espinosa[12]

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.

Paul Espinosa campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* West Virginia State Senate District 16Lost primary$103,494 $134,340
2022West Virginia House of Delegates District 98Won general$32,167 $15,488
2020West Virginia House of Delegates District 66Won general$50,675 N/A**
2018West Virginia House of Delegates District 66Won general$36,845 N/A**
2016West Virginia House of Delegates, District 66Won $28,675 N/A**
2014West Virginia House of Delegates, District 66Won $9,100 N/A**
2012West Virginia State House, District 66Won $21,378 N/A**
** 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

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.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014

See also

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External links

Candidate

West Virginia State Senate District 16
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Paul Espinosa," accessed February 26, 2023
    2. ↑ West Virginia House of Delegates, "Paul Espinosa," accessed February 26, 2023
    3. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed November 4, 2016
    4. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 3, 2017
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
    7. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed April 30, 2014
    8. ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012" accessed November 7, 2012
    9. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
    10. ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
    11. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    12. ↑ Espinosa for Delegate, "Issues," accessed October 20, 2016


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    Preceded by
    -     		West Virginia House of Delegates District 98
    2022-2024    		 Succeeded by
    Joe Funkhouser (R)
    Preceded by
    -     		West Virginia House of Delegates District 66
    2012-2022    		 Succeeded by
    William Nestor (R)







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