Trenton Carl Barnhart (born November 12, 1996) is an American politician who has served as a Delegate from the 7th district to the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2019. Barnhart is a Republican.

Early life, education, and career

Barnhart was born in

St. Marys, West Virginia St. Marys is a city and the county seat of Pleasants County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,847 at the 2020 census. St. Marys was established in 1849 by Alexander Creel, who is said to have had a vision of Mary while pas ...

to Mark and Lori Barnhart. He has a B.A. and an

M.B.A A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the University of Charleston. He was employed as a community banker and compliance auditor. He was also a member of the Pleasants County Republican Executive Committee.

Elections

2019

Barnhart was appointed by West Virginia 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 ...

following the resignation of Delegate Jason Harshbarger, on September 17, 2019.

2020

In his first primary election, Barnhart was challenged by fellow Republican Kerry Murphy, whom he defeated with 53.65% of the vote. Barnhart won unopposed in the general election.

Tenure

Committee assignments

*Workforce Development (Vice Chair) *Banking and Insurance *Government Organization *Health and Human Resources *Small Business and Economic Development Barnhart is an Assistant Majority Whip in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. Barnhart had a 14% 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.

Gun rights

Barnhart is a member of the National Rifle Association of America. He has an A rating from the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights organization, of which he is member, as of 2020. Barnhart was a sponsor of HB 2739, a bill that would declare West Virginia a Second Amendment "sanctuary state."

DC statehood

With many of his fellow Delegates, Barnhart signed onto a resolution requesting West Virginia Senators and Congressmen to oppose bills that would allow

statehood for the District of Columbia The District of Columbia statehood movement is a political movement that advocates making the District of Columbia a U.S. state, to provide the residents of the District of Columbia with voting representation in the Congress and complete ...

Personal life

Barnhart 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:Barnhart, Trenton Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Living people 1996 births 21st-century American legislators People from St. Marys, West Virginia University of Charleston alumni Christians from West Virginia