West Virginia State Senate District 12 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in West Virginia, 2022

---

On the ballot:  • U.S. House • State Senate • House of Delegates • State ballot measures • Municipal

This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for West Virginia State Senate District 12 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 12

Ben Queen defeated Austin Lynch and Harlin Felton in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 12 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ben Queen (R)	68.7	18,711
		Austin Lynch (L)	31.3	8,529
	Submit photo	Harlin Felton (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	8

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 27,248
= 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.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Austin Lynch (L)

I am a veteran fighting for liberty. I believe in minimum government and maximum personal freedom.

I promise honesty, integrity, and accessibility. I have no grandiose political ambitions and sincerely want to represent and help regular, hard-working West Virginians. I will always tell the truth and respond to phone calls and messages from my constituents.

I am unapologetically pro-life, pro-liberty, and pro-Second Amendment.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Austin Lynch (L)

Austin’s priorities will be centered around protecting the God-given rights of citizens. “Montani semper liberi,” or “Mountaineers are always free,” should be the guiding light of the state legislature. Austin is unapologetically pro-life and pro-liberty. He supports protecting life from womb to tomb, lowering taxes, rolling back regulations, reforming the foster care system, and protecting the second amendment.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Austin Lynch (L)

First and foremost, I look up to Jesus Christ and his teachings. I strive to follow his example in how I treat others, especially in showing love, mercy, grace, and compassion to everyone I encounter. I believe the world would be a better place if we all were striving to love like Jesus.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Austin Lynch (L)

I vividly remember the trauma of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. I was twelve years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Austin Lynch (L)

I enlisted in the West Virginia Army National Guard when I was 17 years old and served for nine years. I moved out of my parents' house on my 18th birthday and deployed to Iraq shortly after high school graduation, from 2007-2008. I also served in Operation Flintlock in Mauritania, Africa in 2013.

See also

More about these elections:

• West Virginia State Senate elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:

District 1District 2District 3District 4District 5District 6District 7District 8District 9District 10District 11District 12District 13District 14District 15District 16District 17Submit