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West Virginia State Senate District 8

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West Virginia State Senate District 8
Incumbents
Assumed office: February 6, 2025
Assumed office: 2016

West Virginia State Senate District 8 is represented by T. Kevan Bartlett (R) and Glenn Jeffries (R).

As of the 2020 Census, West Virginia state senators represented an average of 52,795 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 54,700 residents.

About the office

Members of the West Virginia State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. West Virginia legislators assume office the first day of December following the election.

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 12 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person shall be a senator or delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election, been a resident within the district or county from which he is elected; and if a senator or delegate remove from the district or county for which he was elected, his seat shall be thereby vacated."[1]

Section 4 of Article IV states senators must be at least 25 years old.[2]

Section 13 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."[3]

The West Virginia Secretary of State states that all candidates must be individuals entitled to vote and must be citizens of West Virginia for at least five years prior to seeking election.[4]


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[5]
SalaryPer diem
$20,000/year$75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the West Virginia State Legislature, the governor must select a replacement to fill the vacant seat.[6][7]

The executive committee of the political party that held the seat before the vacancy can submit a list of three candidates to the governor. The list must be submitted to the governor within 15 days of the vacancy. The governor must make a selection within five days of receiving the list. If the committee does not submit a list within 15 days, the governor must appoint someone of the same political party as the person who left office. The person that is selected to fill the vacancy serves the remainder of the unfilled term.[7]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: West Virginia Const. Art. 4, Sec. 7 and West Virginia Code Ann. §3-10-5


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2020 census

West Virginia enacted district maps for the Senate and House of Delegates on October 22, 2021.[8] On September 30, 2021, the House Redistricting Committees released a single-member district map proposal for the West Virginia House of Delegates.[9] The proposal passed the House on October 13, 2021, in a 79-20 vote and passed the Senate on October 18, 2021, in a 28-5 vote.[10] On October 5, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee released five map proposals for West Virginia's State Senate districts.[11] On October 11, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee voted to recommend Sen. Charles S. Trump IV's (R) 8th proposed senate map to the full Senate.[12] The Senate approved a map that combined aspects of previous proposals in a 31-2 vote on October 19, 2021. The map, named after Sens. Trump, Tom Takubo (R), Eric Tarr (R) Patricia Rucker (R), and Robert Karnes (R) was approved by the House in a 72-19 vote. Both the House and Senate maps were signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (R) on October 20, 2021.[13] These maps took effect for West Virginia's 2022 legislative elections.

On the Senate map, Sen. Trump said, “This amendment I believe reconciles and harmonizes some of the issues that were points of contention. This is the product of conversations and compromises over a long period of time by a great number of people.”[14]

“There is a faction within the Republican Party that is worried about their reelection when they shouldn’t be. They should worry about how the state works and how to make it work," said Sen. Mike Romano (D).[15]

How does redistricting in West Virginia work? In West Virginia, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are set by the West Virginia State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[16]

The West Virginia Constitution requires that state Senate districts be "compact, contiguous, and bounded by county lines where doing so is not otherwise unlawful." There are no such requirements in place for congressional or state House districts.[16]

West Virginia State Senate District 8
until November 30, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

West Virginia State Senate District 8
starting December 1, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Glenn Jeffries won election in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Glenn Jeffries
Glenn Jeffries (R)
 
100.0
 
30,980

Total votes: 30,980
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Glenn Jeffries advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Glenn Jeffries
Glenn Jeffries
 
100.0
 
8,976

Total votes: 8,976
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.

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2022

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Mark Hunt defeated incumbent Richard Lindsay in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt (R)
 
56.8
 
14,615
Image of Richard Lindsay
Richard Lindsay (D)
 
43.2
 
11,136

Total votes: 25,751
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Richard Lindsay advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Richard Lindsay
Richard Lindsay
 
100.0
 
5,100

Total votes: 5,100
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Mark Hunt defeated Joshua Higginbotham and Mark Mitchem in the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
 
46.4
 
2,427
Image of Joshua Higginbotham
Joshua Higginbotham
 
34.2
 
1,786
Mark Mitchem
 
19.4
 
1,016

Total votes: 5,229
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Glenn Jeffries defeated Kathie Hess Crouse in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Glenn Jeffries
Glenn Jeffries (D)
 
55.8
 
23,389
Image of Kathie Hess Crouse
Kathie Hess Crouse (R)
 
44.2
 
18,557

Total votes: 41,946
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Glenn Jeffries advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Glenn Jeffries
Glenn Jeffries
 
100.0
 
10,337

Total votes: 10,337
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Kathie Hess Crouse advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kathie Hess Crouse
Kathie Hess Crouse
 
100.0
 
7,931

Total votes: 7,931
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Richard Lindsay defeated incumbent Ed Gaunch in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Richard Lindsay
Richard Lindsay (D)
 
50.3
 
16,537
Image of Ed Gaunch
Ed Gaunch (R)
 
49.7
 
16,372

Total votes: 32,909
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Richard Lindsay defeated Mark Hunt in the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Richard Lindsay
Richard Lindsay
 
51.7
 
4,721
Image of Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
 
48.3
 
4,407

Total votes: 9,128
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ed Gaunch advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 8 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Ed Gaunch
Ed Gaunch

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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.

Glenn Jeffries defeated incumbent Chris Walters in the West Virginia State Senate District 8 general election.[17][18]

West Virginia State Senate District 8, General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Glenn Jeffries 53.08% 20,768
     Republican Chris Walters Incumbent 46.92% 18,357
Total Votes 39,125
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State


Glenn Jeffries ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 8 Democratic primary.[19][20]

West Virginia State Senate District 8, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Glenn Jeffries  (unopposed)


Incumbent Chris Walters ran unopposed in the West Virginia State Senate District 8 Republican primary.[19][20]

West Virginia State Senate District 8, Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Chris Walters Incumbent (unopposed)


2014

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the West Virginia State Senate 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 Erik P. Wells was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ed Gaunch was unopposed in the Republican primary. Gaunch defeated Wells and Mike Fisher (Constitution) in the general election.[21][22]

West Virginia State Senate District 8, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngEd Gaunch 53% 14,094
     Democratic Erik P. Wells Incumbent 43.1% 11,472
     Constitution Mike Fisher 3.9% 1,041
Total Votes 26,607

2012

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of West Virginia State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 8, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. Republican Chris Walters defeated Democrat Joshua R. Martin in the general election. Walters was unopposed in the Republican primary election. Martin defeated Jennifer Scragg Karr in the Democratic primary election.[23][24]


West Virginia State Senate, District 8, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Walters 52.9% 19,123
     Democratic Joshua Martin 47.1% 17,039
Total Votes 36,162
West Virginia State Senate, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJoshua Martin 54.3% 3,928
Jennifer Scragg Karr 45.7% 3,307
Total Votes 7,235

2010

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office of West Virginia State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 11, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. Democratic incumbent Erik Wells defeated Republican Bob Ore in the general election. Wells defeated Richard Robb and Richard Lindsay, II in the Democratic primary election. Ore was unopposed in the Republican primary election.[25][26]

West Virginia State Senate, District 8, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngErik Wells Incumbent 63.2% 36,280
     Republican Bob Ore 36.8% 21,116
Total Votes 57,396
West Virginia State Senate District 8 Democratic Primary, 2010
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngErik Wells 50.4% 8,343
Richard Robb 41.5% 6,866
Richard Lindsay 8.2% 1,352
Total Votes 16,561

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for West Virginia State Senate District 8 raised a total of $3,267,384. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $88,308 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, West Virginia State Senate District 8
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $243,950 1 $243,950
2022 $282,611 4 $70,653
2020 $267,316 2 $133,658
2018 $173,942 2 $86,971
2016 $503,803 2 $251,902
2014 $213,021 3 $71,007
2012 $151,231 3 $50,410
2010 $114,696 4 $28,674
2008 $82,696 3 $27,565
2006 $324,837 4 $81,209
2004 $373,833 3 $124,611
2002 $142,288 3 $47,429
2000 $393,161 3 $131,054
Total $3,267,384 37 $88,308


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Constitution of West Virginia, "Article VI, Section 12," accessed May 23, 2025
  2. Constitution of West Virginia, "Article IV, Section 4," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. Constitution of West Virginia, "Article VI, Section 13," accessed May 23, 2025
  4. West Virginia Secretary of State, "2026 Running for Office Guide," accessed May 29, 2025 (page 16)
  5. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  6. West Virginia Legislature, "West Virginia Constitution," accessed February 9, 2021 (Section, Article 4, Section 7)
  7. 7.0 7.1 West Virginia Code, "Article 10 Filling Vacancies: §3-10-5 Vacancies in State Legislature," accessed February 8, 2023
  8. West Virginia Legislature, "Actions by the Governor," accessed October 25, 2021
  9. WSAZ, "First West Virginia redistricting maps released," September 30, 2021
  10. West Virginia Legislature, "Actions by the Governor," accessed October 25, 2021
  11. West Virginia Legislature, "Senate Select Committee on Redistricting," accessed October 7, 2021
  12. WV News, "(West Virginia) Senate Redistricting Committee selects proposed maps," October 11, 2021
  13. Metro News, "After days of trying, Senate overwhelmingly passes a map of its own districts," October 19, 2021
  14. The Center Square, "West Virginia Senate passes Senate redistricting bill," October 21, 2021
  15. 13 News, "West Virginia State Senate passes new district maps; House to return Wednesday," October 19, 2021
  16. 16.0 16.1 All About Redistricting, "West Virginia," accessed May 7, 2015
  17. West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed November 4, 2016
  18. West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 3, 2017
  19. 19.0 19.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
  20. 20.0 20.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
  21. West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed February 7, 2014
  22. West Virginia Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 18, 2014
  23. West Virginia Secretary of State, General Election - November 6, 2012, accessed November 23, 2013
  24. West Virginia Secretary of State, Primary Election - May 8, 2012, accessed November 23, 2013
  25. West Virginia Secretary of State, General Election - November 2, 2010, accessed November 23, 2013
  26. West Virginia Secretary of State, Primary Election - May 11, 2010, accessed November 23, 2013


Current members of the West Virginia State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Randy Smith
Majority Leader:Patrick Martin
Minority Leader:Mike Woelfel
Senators
District 1
Ryan Weld (R)
District 2
District 3
District 4
Amy Grady (R)
Eric Tarr (R)
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
Ben Queen (R)
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Republican Party (32)
Democratic Party (2)