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West Virginia Senate
West Virginia Senate
86th West Virginia Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house of the West Virginia Legislature
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2024
Leadership
President	Craig Blair (R) ; since January 13, 2021
President pro tempore	Donna Boley (R) ; since January 14, 2015
Majority Leader	Tom Takubo (R) ; since January 9, 2019
Minority Leader	Mike Woelfel (D) ; since January 11, 2023
Structure
Seats	34
Political groups	Majority Republican (31) Minority Democratic (3)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article VI, West Virginia Constitution
Salary	$20,000/year + per diem
Elections
Voting system	Plurality voting in staggered elections
Last election	November 8, 2022; (17 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024; (17 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	Senate Chamber; West Virginia State Capitol; Charleston, West Virginia
Website
	West Virginia Legislature

The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the Senate as recently as 2015, Republicans now dominate in the chamber, and hold 31 seats to the Democrats' three seats.

Organization

Senators are elected for terms of four years that are staggered, meaning that only a portion of the 34 state senate seats are up every election.^[1]

The state legislature meets on the second Wednesday of January each year and conducts a 60-day regular session.^[1]

Legislative process

Unlike most state senates, the West Virginia Senate can introduce revenue bills.^[1] Bills must undergo three readings in each house before being sent to the governor.^[1] Bills are drafted by the Office of Legislative Services or legislative staff counsel, reviewed by the sponsor of the bill and submitted for introduction.^[2] Bills are assigned to committees that make recommendations about a bill in the form of a committee report.^[2]

Bills approved in both the West Virginia Senate and West Virginia House of Delegates are then submitted to the governor, who has the power to sign them into law or veto them.^[1] The state legislature can override the veto, unless they have already adjourned.^[1]

Districts

The state is divided into 17 districts, with each electing a senator for a four-year term every two years. Thus each district contains about 1/17th of the state's population, or about 105,000 persons.

The state's districting system is unique in the United States in that both senators from a district cannot be from the same county, no matter the population of the various parts of the district. This means, for example, that one of the 5th District's two senators must reside in Cabell County and the other must reside in the portion of Wayne County that is inside the 5th District, even though Cabell County has more people than the portion of Wayne County that is part of the 5th District. However, both senators are elected by everybody within the district, not just by the people of the county in which the senators reside.

Responding to the 2010 Census the Senate redistricted itself. Kanawha County was divided for the first time in the Senate's history, with the northern and western portions joining a part of Putnam County as the 8th District and the remainder of the county constituting the 17th district on its own. This reduced the number of Senators from Kanawha County from four to three, as one of the 8th's had to be a resident of Putnam.

Responding to the 2020 Census the Senate again redistricted itself. The Senate adopted a new map, again reflecting a shift of the population to the Morgantown area and the Eastern Panhandle. Ten counties, out of the 55, were divided between two different districts, and Kanawha County was divided between three different districts.^[3]

Because senators are elected for four-year terms, the redistricting will not come fully into effect until after the 2024 election, as 17 senators were elected under the new map in 2022, while those elected in 2020 under the old map will continue to serve until 2024.

Senate president

The Senate elects its own president from its membership. Craig Blair is currently the president of the West Virginia Senate.

While the West Virginia Constitution does not create or even mention the title of lieutenant governor, West Virginia Code 6A-1-4 creates this designation for the Senate president, who stands first in the line of succession to the office of governor. As stated in Article 7 Section 16 of the constitution: "In case of the death, conviction or impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation, or other disability of the governor, the president of the Senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed." However, the Senate President may not always serve the remainder of the term as the constitution also states: "Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place to fill the vacancy."

Current composition

86th Legislature (2023–2024)

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Beginning of the 82nd Legislature	18	16	34	0
End of the 82nd Legislature	18	16	34	0

Beginning of the 83rd Legislature	22	12	34	0
End of the 83rd Legislature	22	12	34	0

Beginning of the 84th Legislature	20	14	34	0
End of the 84th Legislature	20	14	34	0

Beginning of the 85th Legislature	23	11	34	0
End of the 85th Legislature	23	11	34	0

Beginning of the 86th Legislature	30	4	34	0
December 1, 2022^[4]	31	3	34	0
Latest voting share	91.2%	8.8%

Leadership of the 86th West Virginia Senate

Position	Name	Party	District	County
Senate President/Lieutenant Governor	Craig Blair	Republican	15th	Berkeley
President pro tempore	Donna Boley	Republican	3rd	Pleasants
Majority Leader	Tom Takubo	Republican	17th	Kanawha
Minority Leader	Mike Woelfel	Democratic	5th	Cabell
Majority Whip	Ryan Weld	Republican	1st	Brooke
Minority Whip	Robert Plymale	Democratic	5th	Wayne

Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Agriculture & Natural Resources	Bill Hamilton	Vince Deeds
Banking and Insurance	Mike Azinger	Mike Oliverio
Confirmations	Donna Boley	Laura Chapman
Economic Development	Glenn Jeffries	Patrick Martin
Education	Amy Grady	Charles Clements
Energy, Industry, & Mining	Randy Smith	Ben Queen
Enrolled Bills	Jack Woodrum	Rollan Roberts
Finance	Eric Tarr	Rupie Phillips
Government Organization	Jack Woodrum	Jason Barrett
Health & Human Resources	Mike Maroney	Tom Takubo
Judiciary	Charles Trump	Ryan Weld
Military	Ryan Weld	Vince Deeds
Outdoor Recreation	Mark Maynard	Jay Taylor
Pensions	Eric Nelson	Mark Hunt
Rules	Craig Blair	Tom Takubo
School Choice	Patricia Rucker	Mark Maynard
Transportation & Infrastructure	Charles Clements	Mike Stuart
Workforce	Rollan Roberts	Glenn Jeffries

Members of the 86th West Virginia Senate

District	Up	Senator	Party	Since	Residence	Home Cty.^[a]	Counties represented^[5]
1	2026	Laura Chapman	Republican	2022	Wheeling	Ohio	Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio
1	2024	Ryan Weld	Republican	2016	Wellsburg	Brooke	Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio
2	2026	Charles H. Clements	Republican	2016	New Martinsville	Wetzel	Doddridge, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Wetzel, Tyler
2	2024	Mike Maroney	Republican	2016	Glen Dale	Marshall	Doddridge, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Wetzel, Tyler
3	2026	Mike Azinger	Republican	2016	Vienna	Wood	Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Wood
3	2024	Donna Boley	Republican	1985	St. Marys	Pleasants	Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt, Wood
4	2026	Eric Tarr	Republican	2018	Scott Depot	Putnam	Cabell, Jackson, Mason, Putnam
4	2024	Amy Grady	Republican	2020	Leon	Mason	Cabell, Jackson, Mason, Putnam
5	2026	Mike Woelfel	Democratic	2014	Huntington	Cabell	Cabell, Wayne
5	2024	Robert H. Plymale	Democratic	1992	Ceredo	Wayne	Cabell, Wayne
6	2026	Mark R. Maynard	Republican	2014	Genoa	Wayne	McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne
6	2024	Chandler Swope	Republican	2016	Bluefield	Mercer	McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne
7	2026	Mike Stuart	Republican	2022	South Charleston	Kanawha	Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan
7	2024	Rupie Phillips	Republican	2020	Lorado	Logan	Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan
8	2026	Mark Hunt	Republican	2022	Charleston	Kanawha	Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Putnam, Roane
8	2024	Glenn Jeffries	Republican	2016	Red House	Putnam	Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Putnam, Roane
9	2026	Rollan Roberts	Republican	2018	Beaver	Raleigh	Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming
9	2024	David Stover	Republican	2020	Maben	Wyoming	Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming
10	2026	Vince Deeds	Republican	2022	Renick	Greenbrier	Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers
10	2024	Jack Woodrum	Republican	2020	Hinton	Summers	Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers
11	2026	Bill Hamilton	Republican	2018	Buckhannon	Upshur	Barbour, Braxton, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, Upshur, Webster
11	2024	Robert L. Karnes	Republican	2020	Helvetia	Randolph
12	2026	Ben Queen	Republican	2022	Bridgeport	Harrison	Calhoun, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Taylor
12	2024	Patrick S. Martin	Republican	2020	Weston	Lewis	Calhoun, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Taylor
13	2026	Mike Oliverio	Republican	2022^[b]	Morgantown	Monongalia	Marion, Monongalia
13	2024	Mike Caputo	Democratic	2020	Rivesville	Marion	Marion, Monongalia
14	2026	Jay Taylor	Republican	2022	Grafton	Taylor	Grant, Hardy, Mineral, Preston, Taylor, Tucker
14	2024	Randy Smith	Republican	2016	Thomas	Tucker	Grant, Hardy, Mineral, Preston, Taylor, Tucker
15	2026	Vacant^[6]	Republican				Berkeley, Hampshire, Morgan
15	2024	Craig Blair	Republican	2012	Martinsburg	Berkeley	Berkeley, Hampshire, Morgan
16	2026	Jason Barrett	Republican	2022	Martinsburg	Berkeley	Berkeley, Jefferson
16	2024	Patricia Rucker	Republican	2016	Harpers Ferry	Jefferson	Berkeley, Jefferson
17	2026	Tom Takubo	Republican	2014	Charleston	Kanawha	Kanawha
17	2024	Eric Nelson	Republican	2020	Charleston	Kanawha	Kanawha

^ Multi-county districts (all but District 17) must elect Senators from different counties
^ Oliverio previously served in the Senate from 1994 to 2010.