Randy E. Smith (West Virginia)

Randy E. Smith

Republican Party

West Virginia State Senate District 14

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

8

Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

0

Prior offices

West Virginia House of Delegates District 53

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Compensation

Base salary

$20,000/year

Per diem

$75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily.

Elections and appointments

Appointed

January 8, 2025

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Randy E. Smith (Republican Party) is a member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 14. He assumed office in 2017. His current term ends on December 1, 2028.

Smith (Republican Party) is also the Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia. He assumed office on January 8, 2025. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.

The West Virginia State Senate elected Smith president of the Senate on January 8, 2025. In West Virginia, the Senate president also serves as the lieutenant governor.

Smith was born in Oakland, Maryland, in 1960. He received his diploma from East Preston High School. Smith worked as a coal mine section foreman for 22 years, followed by a nine-year career in coal mine safety.

Smith first entered state politics when he was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2012. He defeated incumbent Stanley Shaver (D) 57.5%-42.5%. Smith then won election to the state Senate in 2016, defeating incumbent Robert Williams (D) 53.26%-41.93%. Smith chaired the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee from 2017 to 2024 and the Joint Rule-Making Review Committee from 2023 to 2024.

According to West Virginia Watch, Smith described himself as blue collar, working class, and conservative. In an interview with Eyewitness News, Smith said, "I think that's why I probably won the Senate race, because I’m probably more in the center of the conservatives. Don't get me wrong, I’m very conservative." The outlet's Bob Aaron reported, "[Smith] described himself as a social conservative."

Heading into the 2025 legislative session, Smith said he would prioritize "small businesses, continuing Gov. Jim Justice’s focus on fixing roads and improving the state’s broadband infrastructure."

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Smith's political career includes the following offices:

• 2025-present: Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia
• 2017-present: West Virginia State Senate District 14
• 2012-2016: West Virginia House of Delegates District 53

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

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
• Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, Chair
• Senate Finance Committee
• Senate Government Organization Committee
• Military Committee
• Senate Outdoor Recreation Committee
• Workforce Committee
• Rule-Making Review Committee, Chair
• Rule-Making Review Committee

2021-2022

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Agriculture Committee
• Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, Chair
• Senate Government Organization Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Military Committee
• Natural Resources Committee
• Workforce Committee

2019-2020

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, Chair
• Senate Agriculture Committee
• Senate Government Organization Committee
• Military Committee
• Natural Resources Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Workforce Committee

2017 legislative session

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

2015 legislative session

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

West Virginia committee assignments, 2015
• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Energy, Vice-Chair
• Government Organization
• Industry and Labor

2013-2014

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

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

2024

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 14

Incumbent Randy E. Smith defeated Betsy Orndoff-Sayers in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy E. Smith (R)	86.6	36,296
		Betsy Orndoff-Sayers (Mountain Party)	13.4	5,594

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,890
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14

Incumbent Randy E. Smith advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy E. Smith	100.0	13,897

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,897
= 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 primary election

Mountain Party primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14

Betsy Orndoff-Sayers advanced from the Mountain Party primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Betsy Orndoff-Sayers	100.0	19

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.

Pledges

Smith signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2020

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 14

Incumbent Randy E. Smith defeated David Childers in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy E. Smith (R)	72.6	35,382
	Submit photo	David Childers (D)	27.4	13,361

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 48,743
= 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 14

David Childers advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	David Childers	100.0	8,984

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,984
= 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 14

Incumbent Randy E. Smith advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 14 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy E. Smith	100.0	14,118

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,118
= 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 State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the West Virginia State Senate 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.

Randy E. Smith defeated incumbent Robert Williams and Matthew Persinger in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 general election.

West Virginia State Senate District 14, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Randy E. Smith	53.26%	23,201
	Democratic	Robert Williams Incumbent	41.93%	18,264
	Libertarian	Matthew Persinger	4.82%	2,098
Total Votes				43,563
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State

Incumbent Robert Williams ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 Democratic primary.

West Virginia State Senate District 14, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Robert Williams Incumbent (unopposed)

Randy E. Smith ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 14 Republican primary.

West Virginia State Senate District 14, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Randy E. Smith  (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 Randy Smith was unopposed in the Republican primary. Smith was unopposed in the general election.

2012

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2012

Smith won election in the 2012 election for West Virginia House of Delegates, District 53. Smith ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and defeated incumbent Stan Shaver in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

West Virginia House of Delegates, District 53, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Randy Smith	57.5%	4,059
	Democratic	Stan Shaver Incumbent	42.5%	2,994
Total Votes				7,053

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Randy E. Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Randy E. Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Smith's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	He believes the expansion of broadband, particularly across the 14th District, will give the economy a much-needed shot in the arm. The 14th District includes Tucker, Preston, Barbour, Taylor, Hardy and parts of Grant, Mineral and Monongalia counties. Enhancing broadband services may also attract technology businesses to the region, he added. Smith hopes that his foray into the West Virginia Senate will provide him with more clout in serving his constituency. Smith also plans to stand up for farmers in the district, which is heavily agricultural. He cited a controversial new federal water rule that can be detrimental to farmers and landowners. The new rule, of the Environmental Protection Agency, clarifies which waterways are covered under the Clean Water Act. However, Smith and other critics say the new regulation is a power grab by the federal government.	”
—Randy Smith

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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Randy E. Smith campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	West Virginia State Senate District 14	Won general	$126,875	$98,545
2020	West Virginia State Senate District 14	Won general	$149,445	N/A**
2016	West Virginia State Senate, District 14	Won	$122,561	N/A**
2014	West Virginia House of Delegates, District 53	Won	$22,888	N/A**
2012	West Virginia State House, District 53	Won	$59,664	N/A**
Grand total			$481,433	$98,545
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
** 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

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

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. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. West Virginia Citizen's Defense League Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 11. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 12 to March 12. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 10 to April 10. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. West Virginia Manufacturers Association Legislators are scored on their votes on the manufacturing industry. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 7. ACLU West Virginia Legislators are scored on their votes on civil liberties issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Citizen's Defense League Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].
In 2019, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 9. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 10. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. West Virginia Citizen's Defense League 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. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

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. The American Conservative Union 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. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Legislators are scored on their votes on lawsuit-related legislation.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 10. Regenerate WV - House only Legislators are scored on their votes for or against Regenerate WV's position. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Legislators are scored on their votes on lawsuit-related legislation. West Virginia Sierra Club Legislators are scored by the West Virginia Sierra Club on their votes on the Water Resources Protection Act and its amendments.

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West Virginia State Senate District 14

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	West Virginia State Senate District 14 2017-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	West Virginia House of Delegates District 53 2012-2016	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the West Virginia State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Randy Smith

Majority Leader:Patrick Martin

Minority Leader:Mike Woelfel

Senators

District 1

Laura Wakim Chapman (R)

Ryan Weld (R)

District 2

Charles Clements (R)

Christopher Rose (R)

District 3

Mike Azinger (R)

Donna Boley (R)

District 4

Amy Grady (R)

Eric Tarr (R)

District 5

Scott Fuller (R)

Mike Woelfel (D)

District 6

Craig Hart (R)

Mark Maynard (R)

District 7

Rupie Phillips (R)

Mike Stuart (R)

District 8

T. Kevan Bartlett (R)

Glenn Jeffries (R)

District 9

Brian Helton (R)

Rollan Roberts (R)

District 10

Vince Deeds (R)

Jack Woodrum (R)

District 11

William Hamilton (R)

Robbie Morris (R)

District 12

Patrick Martin (R)

Ben Queen (R)

District 13

Joey Garcia (D)

Mike Oliverio (R)

District 14

Randy Smith (R)

Jay Taylor (R)

District 15

Darren Thorne (R)

Tom Willis (R)

District 16

Jason Barrett (R)

Patricia Rucker (R)

District 17

Anne Charnock (R)

Tom Takubo (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (2)