Paul Thomas Farrell Jr. (born July 1, 1972) is an American attorney from

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

who ran for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in the 2016 West Virginia Democratic primary.

Early life and education

Paul Thomas Farrell Jr. was born to Judge Paul Thomas Farrell and Charlene Marie Linsenmeyer on July 1, 1972. Farrell spent his first few years in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

before moving to Huntington. There he would graduate from Huntington East High School in 1990. Farrell would later graduate from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1994, and the West Virginia University College of Law in 1997, where he was the managing editor of the

Law Review A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pro ...

2016 presidential campaign

On January 28, 2016, Farrell filed for President of the United States for the Democratic Party in West Virginia. He cited West Virginia's disenchantment with the national candidates as his motivation for running, noting U.S. President

Barack Obama's Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

poor showing in the 2012 Democratic Primary in West Virginia. Farrell did not plan to run in any additional states, instead saying he would like to bring national attention to the 'economically gutted regions of the state' caused by the so-called war on coal. Farrell came in third in the West Virginia primary, receiving just under 9 percent of the vote. In his best performance, Farrell came in second place in

Mingo County Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic Iroq ...

, beating

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

by 113 votes. He lost to

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

, who won every county in the state.

Career

Farrell practiced for 15 years at the law firm of Greene, Ketchum, Farrell, Bailey & Tweel where he was a partner. His work at Greene Ketchum focused primarily on medical malpractice and personal injury lawsuits. In January 2020, Farrell launched his own law firm, Farrell Law.

Opioid epidemic

Farrell's home state of West Virginia has been the epicenter of the opioid epidemic. Between 2007 and 2012, drug distribution companies shipped 780 million doses of opioids to West Virginia, and 1,728 overdose deaths occurred. In 2017, Farrell filed a series of lawsuits against the drug company distributors under the state's public nuisance laws. The suits, filed on behalf of various counties, seek to hold the drug distribution companies accountable for the cost incurred fighting the epidemic. In

Cabell County Cabell County is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,350, making it West Virginia's fourth most-populous county. Its county seat is Huntington. The county was organized in 1809 and named for ...

alone, 40 million tablets were distributed in a five-year period, more than 400 for each of the 96,000 people who reside there.

References

External links

* Paul T. Farrell Jr.'s law firm
Farrell Law
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Paul T. Jr. Living people Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election 21st-century American politicians West Virginia Democrats Lawyers from Huntington, West Virginia University of Notre Dame alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni 1972 births Politicians from Huntington, West Virginia Lawyers from Morgantown, West Virginia Politicians from Morgantown, West Virginia