President of the West Virginia Senate

The Senate elects its own president from its membership. On January 14, 2015, the Senate named Bill Cole Senate President after Republicans regained control of the Senate after 80 years.

While the West Virginia Constitution does not create or even mention the title of lieutenant governor, West Virginia Code 6A-1-4 creates this designation for the Senate President. The Senate President is first in the line of succession to the office of governor. As stated in Article 7 Section 16 of the constitution: "In case of the death, conviction or impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation, or other disability of the governor, the president of the Senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed." However, the Senate President may not always serve the remainder of the term as the constitution also states: "Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place to fill the vacancy."

List

Below is a list of Presidents of the West Virginia Senate since 1863:

Name	Party	Term	Residence
John M. Phelps	Republican	1863–1864	Mason Co.
William E. Stevenson	Republican	1864–1869	Wood Co.
D.D.T. Farnsworth	Republican	1869–1871	Upshur Co.
Lewis Baker	Democratic	1871–1872	Ohio Co.
Carlos A. Sperry	Democratic	1872–1872	Greenbrier Co.
Daniel D. Johnson	Democratic	1872–1877, 1879–1881	Tyler Co.
Ulysses N. Arnett	Democratic	1877–1879	Marion Co.
Albert E. Summers	Democratic	1881–1883	Kanawha Co.
Thomas J. Farnsworth	Democratic	1883–1885	Upshur Co.
George E. Price	Democratic	1885–1889	Mineral Co.
Robert S. Carr	Democratic	1889–1891	Kanawha Co.
John W. McCreery	Democratic	1891–1893	Raleigh Co.
Rankin Wiley, Jr.	Democratic	1893–1895	Mason Co.
William G. Worley	Republican	1895–1897	Preston Co.
Nelson E. Whitaker	Republican	1897–1899	Ohio Co.
Oliver S. Marshall	Republican	1899–1901	Hancock Co.
Anthony Smith	Republican	1901–1903	Tyler Co.
Clarke W. May	Republican	1903–1905	Lincoln Co.
Gustavus A. Northcott	Republican	1905–1907	Cabell Co.
Joseph H. McDermott	Republican	1907–1909	Monongalia Co.
L. J. Forman	Republican	1909–1911	Grant Co.
Henry D. Hatfield	Republican	1911–1913	McDowell Co.
Samuel V. Woods	Democratic	1913–1915	Barbour Co.
Edward T. England	Republican	1915–1917	Logan Co.
Wells Goodykoontz	Republican	1917–1919	Mingo Co.
Charles A. Sinsel	Republican	1919–1921	Taylor Co.
Gohen C. Arnold	Republican	1921–1922	Upshur Co.
Harry G. Shaffer	Republican	1923–1925	Boone Co.
Charles G. Coffman	Republican	1925–1925	Harrison Co.
M.Z. White	Republican	1925–1933	Mingo Co.
A.G. Mathews	Democratic	1933–1935	Calhoun Co.
Charles E. Hodges	Democratic	1935–1939,	Monongalia Co.
William M. LaFon	Democratic	1939–1941	Monroe Co.
Byron B. Randolph	Democratic	1941–1943	Harrison Co.
James Paull	Democratic	1943–1945	Brooke Co.
Arnold M. Vickers	Democratic	1945–1949	Fayette Co.
W. Broughton Johnston	Democratic	1949–1953	Mercer Co.
Ralph J. Bean	Democratic	1953–1961	Hardy Co.
Howard W. Carson	Democratic	1961–1969	Fayette Co.
Lloyd G. Jackson	Democratic	1969–1971	Lincoln Co.
E. Hansford McCourt	Democratic	1971–1973	Webster Co.
William T. Brotherton, Jr.	Democratic	1973–1981	Kanawha Co.
Warren McGraw	Democratic	1981–1985	Wyoming Co.
Dan R. Tonkovich	Democratic	1985–1989	Marshall Co.
Larry A. Tucker	Democratic	1989–1989	Nicholas Co.
Keith Burdette	Democratic	1989–1995	Wood Co.
Earl Ray Tomblin* #	Democratic	1995–2011	Logan Co.
Jeffrey V. Kessler	Democratic	2011-2015	Marshall Co.
Bill Cole	Republican	2015-	Mercer Co.

*By an act of the West Virginia Legislature and beginning with Tomblin in 2000, WV Code 6A-1-4(b) assigns the title "Lieutenant Governor" to the President of the West Virginia Senate
#Concurrently served as Acting Governor from November 15, 2010 until inaugurated as Governor on November 13, 2011. During this time, the West Virginia Senate named Jeffrey V. Kessler as Acting President of the Senate.

See also

• West Virginia Senate