Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as president of the West Virginia Senate from 1995 to 2011. Tomblin became acting governor in November 2010 following Joe Manchin's election to the U.S. Senate. He won a special election in October 2011 to fill the unexpired term ending on January 14, 2013, and was elected to a full term as governor in November 2012.
Tomblin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974, and reelected in 1976 and 1978. He won election to the Senate for the 7th district in 1980 and was subsequently re-elected every four years until his election as governor.
Tomblin was elected on January 3, 1995, as the 48th President of the West Virginia Senate. Having served in the position for almost seventeen years, he is the longest serving Senate President in West Virginia's history. Tomblin became the first Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia upon creation of the honorary designation in 2000.
As a senator, he represented the 7th Senate District encompassing Boone, Lincoln, Logan, and Wayne counties.[3]
Acting governor
Tomblin became acting governor when Joe Manchin resigned after being elected to fill the United States Senate seat of the late Senator Robert Byrd. Tomblin is the first person to serve as acting governor under West Virginia's current constitution.
While acting governor, Tomblin also retained the title of Senate President, per the state constitution.[4] However, he did not participate in legislative business or preside over the Senate while acting governor.
In 2011, Tomblin stated his desire to run for the governorship. Following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals on January 18, 2011, a special gubernatorial election was scheduled for October 4, 2011.[5][6] Tomblin was successful in the Democratic primary, beating a field of six contenders, while Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney emerged as the Republican nominee in the May 14 primary. Tomblin went on to win the general election against Maloney and was sworn in as governor on November 13, 2011.[7] Immediately before taking the oath as governor, Tomblin officially resigned from both the offices of Senate President and state senator.[8]
Tomblin is anti-abortion.[10][11] Despite this, in March 2014, Tomblin vetoed a bill that would have banned abortions in West Virginia after 20 weeks, which he said was due to constitutionality issues.[10] In March 2015, Tomblin again vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden by the West Virginia legislature.[11][12]
Approval ratings
A May 2013 survey by Republican strategist Mark Blankenship showed Tomblin's job approval rating to be at 69 percent, unchanged from two months earlier.[13] According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in September 2013, Tomblin had an approval rating of 47 percent with 35 percent disapproving, up from 44 percent in 2011.[14]
Term limit
Tomblin was barred from running for a second full term in 2016. Under the West Virginia Constitution, a partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.
Personal life
Tomblin was married on September 8, 1979, to Joanne Jaeger, a native New Yorker and graduate of Marshall University, who served as the president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College from 1999 to 2015.[15][16] They reside in Chapmanville and have one son, Brent. Tomblin attends the First Presbyterian Church of Logan.
Electoral history
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1974
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Tom Mathis
7,139
25.24
Democratic
Earl Ray Tomblin
7,086
25.06
Democratic
Sammy Dalton
7,061
24.97
Democratic
Charles Gilliam
6,993
24.73
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1976
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Earl Ray Tomblin (inc.)
8,545
14.88
Democratic
Denver Mathis (inc.)
7,641
13.31
Democratic
Sammy Dalton (inc.)
6,745
11.75
Democratic
Charles Gilliam (inc.)
6,523
11.36
Democratic
William Calyton
4,331
7.54
Democratic
Mike Hill
4,144
7.22
Democratic
Jimmy Vance
3,274
5.70
Democratic
Cris Farley
3,246
5.65
Democratic
John Mendez
3,169
5.52
Democratic
Sim Howze Jr.
2,197
3.83
Democratic
Florena Colvin
1,618
2.82
Democratic
Dollie Mae Hill
1,556
2.71
Democratic
Homer Vaughan
1,535
2.67
Democratic
Charles Jesse Dillon
1,261
2.20
Democratic
Robert Marcum Jr.
844
1.47
Democratic
Greg Anderson Adams
783
1.36
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1976
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Thomas Mathis (inc.)
17,872
25.15
Democratic
Earl Ray Tomblin (inc.)
17,843
25.11
Democratic
Charles Gilliam (inc.)
17,701
24.91
Democratic
Sammy Dalton (inc.)
17,641
24.83
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1978
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Earl Ray Tomblin (inc.)
8,119
18.66
Democratic
Charles Gilliam (inc.)
7,863
18.07
Democratic
Tomas Mathis (inc.)
6,990
16.07
Democratic
Sammy Dalton (inc.)
6,766
15.55
Democratic
Claude Ellis
4,340
9.98
Democratic
Gary Hoke
3,343
7.68
Democratic
Larry Hendricks
3,177
7.30
Democratic
James Trent
2,905
6.68
West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1978
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Tom Mathis (inc.)
11,523
21.10
Democratic
Sammy Dalton (inc.)
11,501
21.06
Democratic
Earl Ray Tomblin (inc.)
11,439
20.94
Democratic
Charles Gilliam (inc.)
11,395
20.86
Republican
Shirley Mae Baisden
4,721
8.64
Republican
Samuel Dingess
4,043
7.40
West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1980