Amy Nichole Grady (; born October 15, 1979) is an American teacher and politician who has served as the junior West Virginia State Senator from the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

since 2020. Grady is a Republican. Grady has served as the chair of the West Virginia Senate Education Committee since 2022.

Early life, education, and career

Grady is the daughter of Addie Roberts. She received her

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

degree from

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an ...

and West Virginia University and served as a teacher before running for office.

Elections

Grady, a teacher, was inspired to run for office after participating in the

2018 West Virginia teachers' strike The West Virginia teachers' and school personnel strike began on February 22, 2018 with a call from the West Virginia branches of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, and the West Virginia School Service Pers ...

. Her later opponent in the primary, Lt. Governor and President of the

West Virginia Senate 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 ...

, Mitch Carmichael, had opposed pay raises for teachers and supported

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...

s. Her role in the strike led her to seek the office. On her website, Grady described herself as a "

Pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

, Pro-

2nd Amendment The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the Bill of Rights. In ''District of Columbia v. Helle ...

conservative teacher who is fed up with self-serving elected officials." Her campaign was self-funded and Carmichael outraised her by more than 50:1 in the primary. Grady won the three-way primary election with 39.12% of the vote, defeating Carmichael by a margin of fewer than 1000 votes. Carmichael conceded the evening of the election and agreed to support Grady in the general. Grady defeated Democrat Bruce Ashworth in the 2020 general election with 70.69% of the vote.

Tenure

Committee assignments

* Education (chair) *Health and Human Resources (Vice Chair) *Agriculture and Rural Development *Judiciary *Military *Natural Resources

Education

Grady spoke in support of and voted for House Bill 2013, a bill that would allow more public funds to be used by parents sending their children to

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

. Grady voted for Senate Bill 680, a bill that would make it harder for school staff to be given raises.

Transgender rights

As a member of the education committee, Grady was the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 341, a bill that would require transgender athletes to compete in sports associated with their biological sex.

DC statehood

With many of her fellow Senators, Grady signed onto a resolution requesting West Virginia Senators and Congresspeople to oppose bills that would allow statehood for the District of Columbia.

Personal life

Grady is married to Jack L. Grady and has three children. She is a Christian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grady, Amy 1979 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party West Virginia state senators Marietta College alumni