Barnhart, Harshbarger seek GOP nomination for unexpired Senate term

PARKERSBURG – Following the retirement of Donna Boley, the longest continuously serving member in the history of the West Virginia Senate, the man appointed to her seat and a former legislator are vying to complete the term.

Sen. Trenton Barnhart, R-Pleasants, was tapped by Gov. Patrick Morrisey to take Boley’s place in the District 3 seat early in this year’s legislative session, moving over from the House of Delegates. To remain in the position beyond this year, he’ll have to defeat former Del. Jason Harshbarger in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

No Democrat has filed to run for the seat, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office.

Barnhart, 29, is a community banker working in business development and sales for Citizens Bank of West Virginia in St. Marys. He was appointed to the House in 2019 by then-Gov. Jim Justice and elected to three full two-year terms.

“I’m running to support the next generation of West Virginians,” Barnhart said. “I know how to work with small business owners and … grow our economy.”

He said he’d like to continue the recent strong financial management by the Legislature and work to create jobs and opportunities so people will feel like they can stay in West Virginia. In addition, he said he wants to continue “defending and preserving our conservative values.”

Barnhart said he served on almost every major committee in the House and spent four years as chairman of the House Banking and Insurance Committee. In the Senate, he’s on the Education, Finance, Energy, Economic Development and Confirmations committees and serves as vice chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee.

“In this job, you really have to know a little about a lot,” Barnhart said.

Before becoming a legislator himself, Barnhart worked as a policy analyst for the House Education Committee and in the spot compliance audit program in the state auditor’s office.

“I think these experiences have uniquely prepared me to continue in this role,” he said.

After representing Pleasants, Ritchie and a portion of Tyler County for years, Barnhart said he’s enjoyed meeting people in Wood and Wirt counties as he’s campaigned for the Senate seat.

Harshbarger, 51, is the state policy director for BHE GT&S, an interstate natural gas transmission and storage company. He represented Pleasants and Ritchie counties in the House from 2017 to 2019.

Harshbarger said he decided to run for the unexpired term because he feels the Senate hasn’t focused enough in the last few years on job creation and economic development.

“With my years of experience and life lessons, I just feel I have a pretty good resume to bring to the table to help move the state forward,” he said.

In his job, Harshbarger said, he meets with representatives of companies looking to move to the region and some of them express frustration with regulations in West Virginia compared to other states.

“When we sit down at the table with businesses looking to move to West Virginia … they vent some of their frustrations with why they’re unable to move to West Virginia and establish that business,” he said at a campaign event in Parkersburg last week. “You get an inside picture why they’re picking other states over us. I think we need to get the Senate back on track with some economic development and be very aggressive with our bordering states.”

Although he represented Ritchie and Pleasants County in the House, Harshbarger noted he is a Wood County native.

“So I’m very familiar with the district,” he said.

The 3rd Senate District covers Wood, Wirt, Pleasants and Ritchie counties. Incumbent Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, is running against Del. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, in the GOP primary for a full term in the district’s other seat, with the winner to face Democrat Caci Petrehn in the general election. The senators from the district cannot be from the same county.

Staff reporter Steven Allen Adams contributed to this story.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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