Erik Patrick Wells (born February 5, 1967) is an American politician
and former television news anchor. Wells was born and raised in California, but moved to
West Virginia in the early 1990s to further his career in journalism. Wells was a popular co-anchor in the state's capital,
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, while on a morning show called ''Good Morning, West Virginia'' with his wife
Natalie Tennant on
WCHS TV.
After leaving television news, Wells and his wife decided to pursue political careers. Wells was the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nominee for
West Virginia's Second Congressional District. Wells campaigned aggressively against incumbent
Shelley Moore Capito, claiming that she was hypocritical in only agreeing to one debate when, in the 2000 Congressional Campaign, she had urged her opponent to debate in every county in the Congressional district. Despite a stronger than expected showing by Wells, Capito maintained her seat.
In 2006, Wells was elected to the
West Virginia Senate, representing the
8th district
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...
. He defeated Dave Higgins in the Democratic Primary and Charleston lawyer and former WVU football letterman Mark Plants in the general election. Wells was defeated for re-election in 2014.
Wells is married to
Natalie Tennant, former
Secretary of State of West Virginia. Erik and Natalie reside in Charleston and have one daughter, Delaney.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Erik
Living people
1967 births
People from Santa Monica, California
Saint Vincent College alumni
West Virginia University alumni
Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia
West Virginia state senators
Journalists from West Virginia
Journalists from California
21st-century American politicians