Nicholas Riley Keaton (born August 9, 1997) is an American politician who served as a Delegate to the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

from 2020 to 2023. Keaton is a

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Early life, education, and career

Keaton was born in

Spencer, West Virginia Spencer is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, West Virginia, United States. Originally known as "California," Spencer was chartered in 1858, and named after Spencer Roane (1762–1822), a distinguished jurist from Virginia, who served ...

, to Tony and Tracey Keaton. He studied for his Bachelor of Economics degree at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. As a teenager, Keaton was politically active. Before assuming office, Keaton was employed as the president of a

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Elections

2016

In his first primary, Keaton narrowly lost to incumbent Rick Atkinson in a three-way race, receiving 37.36% of the vote and missing the nomination by only 28 votes.

2020

In the 2020 primary, Keaton defeated Atkinson with 52.01% of the vote to win the nomination. In the general election, Keaton defeated Democrat Mark Pauley with 66.46% of the vote.

2022

In 2022, Keaton's district changed following the states redistricting. He was once again up against Rick Atkinson in the primary. On May 10, 2022, he went on to win the primary with 56% of the vote to Atkinson's 44%. In the general election, Keaton defeated Democrat Chuck Conner with 30.1% of the vote.

Tenure

Committee assignments

*Banking and Insurance *Judiciary *Small Business and Economic Development *Technology & Infrastructure Keaton is an assistant majority whip in the House of Delegates. Keaton has an "A" rating from the

NRA Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The Fund contributes money to political campaigns of candidates endorsed by the NRA. Chairman Chris W. Cox, who has been the NRA ...

and a 100% rating from the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a regional

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.

DC statehood

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

Education

Keaton opposed Senate Bill 680, a bill that would make it harder for school staff to be given raises, but the bill passed the House of Delegates despite some Republican opposition.

Freedom of speech

Keaton was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2595, a bill that would prohibit so-called "divisive concepts" from being taught in West Virginia schools or promoted in other state-funded agencies. It targeted criticisms of American society, eliminating language that would refer to the US as a "fundamentally racist or sexist" country.

Worker's rights

Keaton voted for SB 11, a bill that would make it more difficult for employees to

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

Resignation

On October 12, 2023, Keaton formally resigned from his position in the West Virginia House of Delegates, stating on his

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that he has accepted a legislative role with the

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice had a net worth of $1.2 billion in September 2018, making him the wealthiest person ...

Administration’s Department of Human Services.

Personal life

Keaton is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. On October 8, 2022, Keaton married Sadie Shields at the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Charleston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keaton, Riley 1997 births Living people 21st-century American legislators Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Catholic politicians from West Virginia People from Spencer, West Virginia