David Kelly (Born November 8, 1956) is an American politician who has served as a Delegate from the 6th district to the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2020. Kelly is a Republican.

Early life, education, and career

Kelly was born in

Petersburg, West Virginia Petersburg is a city in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grant County. History Petersburg was founded circa 1745 by Jacob Peterson, who owned the area's first mercha ...

to Darlene Dotson Kelly and John E. Kelly. He has a

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in divinity. Kelly served 20 years in law enforcement, including two terms as a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. He also served as the Tyler County commissioner before running to be a delegate.

Elections

2018

In his primary, Kelly defeated fellow Republican Alex King with 53.05% of the vote to earn the nomination. Kelly defeated Democrat T. Chris Combs and Independent J. Scott Beaver with 67.05% of the vote in the general election.

2020

In his second primary election, Kelly ran unopposed. Kelly defeated Democrat Cindy Welch with 72.70% of the vote to win reelection in the general election.

Tenure

Committee assignments

*Select Committee on Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse (Chair) *Agriculture and Natural Resources *Judiciary *Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Kelly is the Assistant Majority Whip in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. Kelly has a 77% lifetime rating from the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

. He also has a B− rating from the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

organization, as of 2020. Kelly had a 16% rating from the West Virginia chapter of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

as of 2020.

Personal life

Kelly is married to Jan Kelly and has four children. He is a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, David 1956 births 21st-century American politicians Living people West Virginia Republicans