WVOW News
CHARLESTON A new state senator representing the coalfields was sworn into office just before the new year.
State Senator Mike Stuart took the ceremonial oath in the Senate Chamber of the West Virginia Capitol on Friday, December 30. The oath was administered by State Senate President & Lieutenant Governor Craig Blair.
“The margin of victory in my campaign was a clear and strong mandate by the people of the district,” Stuart said in a statement. “I fully intend to fight for the things I championed throughout the campaign including conservative values, lower taxes, coal and natural gas, tougher laws to deal with crime and criminals, education reform, and a focused effort to rebuild the towns and communities that comprise the Seventh District.”
The new district lines on the state senate consist of Boone, Lincoln, Logan and the southern part of Kanawha counties making up the Seventh District. According to election data at the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, Stuart defeated long time Boone County incumbent Dr. Ron Stollings with more than 58% of the vote.
Stuart has been assigned to numerous committees including Judiciary, Economic Development, Energy, Industry and Mining, Natural Resources and Agriculture, and will serve as Vice Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“Decades of job-killing policies have nearly destroyed the economies of Lincoln, Logan, Boone and Kanawha counties,” Stuart’s statement continued. “My District is filled with empty storefronts, empty streets and rotting infrastructure. The DC and Charleston swamps have done enough damage. I intend to fight with a sense of urgency for a better future for the people of West Virginia and the seventh.”
Stuart is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. He was appointed by President Trump.
He graduated with degrees in political science and accounting from West Virginia University and attended law school at Boston University.
Stuart has resided in the Alum Creek area of Kanawha County for nearly twenty years with his wife.
The sixty-day legislative session begins Wednesday, January 11.