Robert Ashley (West Virginia)
Robert "Bob" Ashley (b. July 4, 1953) is a former Republican member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 3 from September 15, 2015 to December 1, 2016. He was appointed to the chamber to replace David Nohe (R), who was appointed to the West Virginia Parole Board by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D).[1]
Ashley served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1984 to 1998 and from 2000 to September 15, 2015. From 1988 to 1994 and again from 1999 to 2000, he served as State House Minority Whip. He also served as State House Minority Leader from 1994 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2002.
Ashley passed away on May 15, 2024. [2]
Biography
Ashley earned his B.B.A. from Marshall University in 1975. His professional experience includes working as an advertising manager for Hardman's in 1983 and as the owner of Bob Ashley Insurance Agency since 1983.[3]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Ashley served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance, Vice-Chair |
| • Health and Human Resources |
| • Rules |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
| • Small Business Entrepreneurship and Economic Development |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Ashley served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Homeland Security, Minority Chair |
| • Insurance, Minority Chair |
| • Finance |
| • Senior Citizen Issues |
| • Rules |
| • Children, Juveniles and Other Issues |
| • Finance |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Ashley served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Children, Juveniles and Other Issues |
| • Finance |
| • Joint Finance |
| • Rules |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Ashley served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
Campaign themes
2016
Ashley's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
Bob Ashley is...
|
” |
| —Bob Ashley[5] | ||
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 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.
Incumbent Donna Boley defeated Bradley Vanzile in the West Virginia State Senate District 3(a) general election.[6][7]
| West Virginia State Senate District 3(a), General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Donna Boley Incumbent |
64.70% | 27,172 | |
| Democratic | Bradley Vanzile | 35.30% | 14,826 | |
| Total Votes | 41,998 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
Bradley Vanzile ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 3(a) Democratic primary.[8][9]
| West Virginia State Senate District 3(a), Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Bradley Vanzile (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Donna Boley defeated incumbent Robert Ashley and John Riggs in the West Virginia State Senate District 3(a) Republican primary.[8][9]
| West Virginia State Senate District 3(a), Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Donna Boley Incumbent |
62.97% | 11,508 | |
| Republican | Robert Ashley Incumbent | 18.59% | 3,398 | |
| Republican | John Riggs | 18.43% | 3,368 | |
| Total Votes | 18,274 | |||
Primary race background
- Main article: West Virginia races we're watching, 2016
Boley and Ashley had each held leadership positions in the state legislature. Boley was first appointed to the chamber in 1985. She served as State Senate Minority Leader between 1991 and 1997. Ashley served in the state House between 1984 and 1998 and between 2000 and 2015. From 1988 to 1994 and again from 1999 to 2000, he served as State House Minority Whip.
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 Bob Ashley was unopposed in the Republican primary. Ashley defeated Mark Myers in the general election.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Ashley Incumbent |
81.1% | 3,463 | |
| Mountain | Mark Myers | 18.9% | 807 | |
| Total Votes | 4,270 | |||
2012
Ashley won re-election in the 2012 election for West Virginia House of Delegates, District 11. Ashley ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and defeated Mark Myers in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Ashley Incumbent |
81.1% | 4,699 | |
| Mountain | Mark Myers | 18.9% | 1,093 | |
| Total Votes | 5,792 | |||
2010
Ashley was re-elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates District 11. He was one of two candidates running for the District 11 Delegate position on the ballot in the November 2, 2010, general election. His opponent in the general election was Mountain Party Mark Myers.[14][15][16]
| West Virginia House of Delegates, District 11 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Robert Ashley (R)
|
3,266 | 80.94% | ||
| Mark Myers (M) | 769 | 19.06% | ||
| West Virginia State Senate, District 11 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Robert G. Ashley (R)
|
1,069 | 99.72% | ||
2008
In 2008, Ashley was re-elected to the West Virginia House District 11. Ashley (R) ran unopposed and finished with 4,983 votes.[17] Ashley raised $6,050 for his campaign fund.[18]
| West Virginia House District 11 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Robert Ashley (R)
|
4,983 | |||
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.
Endorsements
2016
In 2016, Ashley's endorsements included the following:[19]
- West Virginia Farm Bureau
- West Virginia Sheriffs' Association
- West Virginia Bankers Association
- West Virginia Hospital Association
- West Virginia Funeral Directors Association
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Ashley and his wife, Anita Harold, have two children.
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.
|
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.
|
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Robert + Ashley + West + Virginia + Senate"
See also
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia House of Delegates
- West Virginia House Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia State Senate District 3
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Bob Ashley on Facebook
- Bob Ashley on Twitter
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ statejournal.com, "Longtime Delegate Bob Ashley appointed to WV Senate," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ Legacy.com, "Robert "Bob" Ashley," accessed May 21, 2024
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Rep. Ashley," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bob Ashley State Senate, "Meet Bob," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 11, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "West Virginia House election results," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Campaign funds," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Bob Ashley State Senate, "Endorsements," accessed May 3, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by N/A |
West Virginia House of Delegates District 11 2001–September 15, 2015 |
Succeeded by Rick Atkinson (R) |
| Preceded by David Nohe (R) |
West Virginia State Senate District 3 September 15, 2015-December 1, 2016 |
Succeeded by Mike Azinger (R) |
