Jordan Ray Bridges (born March 28, 1988) is an American politician who has served as a Delegate from the 24th District to the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2020. He is a Republican.

Early life, education, and career

Bridges was born in Logan, West Virginia to Bobby and Jackie Bridges. He attended the Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. He was employed in the coal industry before assuming office.

Elections

2018

Bridges first ran for office in 2018, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Bridges was one of two Republicans to receive his party's nomination in the primary, receiving 44.27% of the vote. In the four-way, elect-two general election, Bridges, as well as his fellow Republican, were defeated by Democrats Tim Tomblin and

Ralph Rodighiero Ralph Rodighiero (born May 26, 1963) is an American politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 24th district from 2014 until 2020. He also previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 19th distr ...

. Bridges received 22.82% of the vote.

2020

Bridges ran again in 2020. During his campaign, Bridges supported investment in

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

, limited regulations on business, and less taxation. In his primary, Bridges was nominated alongside Margitta Mazzocchi with 60.37% of the vote. In the general, Bridges defeated Tomblin and another Democrat with 29.24% of the vote.

Tenure

Committee assignments

*Agriculture and Natural Resources *Education *Energy and Manufacturing *Workforce Development

Coal

As a former coal miner, Bridges joined an unofficial bipartisan workgroup designed to aid the recovery of communities reliant on the failing

coal industry Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when de ...

Transgender rights

Bridges was a cosponsor of House Bill 3293, a bill that would prohibit

transgender athletes The participation of transgender people in competitive sports, a traditionally sex-segregated institution, is a controversial issue, particularly the inclusion of transgender women and girls in women's sports. Opponents argue that transgende ...

from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. After announcing that he would cosponsor the bill on his Facebook page, Bridges liked a number of posts which encouraged violence against the transgender community, compared transgender people to pigs, and used the derogatory term, "

tranny ''Tranny'' is an offensive and derogatory slur for a transgender individual. During the early 2000s, there was some confusion and debate over whether the term was a pejorative, was considered acceptable, or a reappropriated term of unity and pr ...

." The bill was cited in a June 2020 statement by the Department of Justice, which argued that the bill violated federal law, the 14th Amendment, and Title IX.

Worker's rights

Bridges voted against SB 11, a bill that would make it more difficult for employees to strike.

Personal life

Bridges is married to Erica Bridges and has two children. He is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Jordan Living people 1988 births Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates American coal miners People from Logan, West Virginia