Stephen Baldwin Jr. is a former Democratic member 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 ...

, representing the 10th district from 2016 to 2022. During the 85th Legislature, Baldwin served as the Senate Minority Leader. Baldwin was the third Minority Leader since the Republicans took the majority in the Senate in 2014. Prior to his appointment to the State Senate, Baldwin represented the 42nd District in 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 ...

, and was a member of the

Greenbrier County Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History P ...

Board of Education. In 2022, Baldwin lost re-election to

Vince Deeds Vincent S. Deeds is a Republican member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 10th district, and a retired West Virginia state trooper and pastor. Early life Deeds grew up on a dairy farm in Jumping Branch, West Virginia, and attende ...

, becoming one of only two state legislative leaders to lose re-election in 2022.

Political career

West Virginia House of Delegates

In 2016, Baldwin ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 42nd House District, which encompassed the majority of

, as well as portions of Monroe and Summers counties. Baldwin faced incumbent Delegates George Ambler and Ray Canterbury in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Running on his strength in his home Greenbrier County, Baldwin secured first place in the two-member district, ousting incumbent Republican delegate Ray Canterbury in the three-way race.

West Virginia Senate

After serving just 10 months in the House of Delegates, Baldwin was appointed by Governor

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 ...

in October 2017 to a West Virginia Senate seat from District 10. He replaced state senator Ron Miller, who resigned to take a role in the Justice administration advising on agricultural issues.

2018

Baldwin ran for a full term in 2018 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Baldwin faced his former colleague, Republican Delegate George Ambler in the November general election, who he beat 53-47%.

2022

Baldwin ran for reelection in 2022, running unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, Baldwin faced former West Virginia State Trooper Vince Deeds and Independent Candidate Aaron Ransom and lost to Deeds 38-59%.

References

1982 births 21st-century American politicians American Presbyterian ministers Living people Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Pinehurst, North Carolina People from Ronceverte, West Virginia Presbyterians from West Virginia Queens College, City University of New York alumni School board members in West Virginia Vanderbilt University alumni Democratic Party West Virginia state senators {{WestVirginia-politician-stub