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.
Early life and education Tomblin was born in Logan County, West Virginia, and is the son of Freda M. (née Jarrell) and Earl Tomblin. His mother was 18 years old when he was born. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from West Virginia University where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and then went along to receive a Master of Business Administration degree from Marshall University.
State Legislature and Senate President 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.
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. However, he did not participate in legislative business or preside over the Senate while acting governor.
Governor of West Virginia
Elections
2011 special
Under the West Virginia constitution, when the governorship becomes vacant with more than one year remaining in the term, a special election must be held for the remainder of the term. In Manchin's case, he left office two years into his second term. Tomblin stated his desire to run for the remainder of the term. Following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals on January 18, 2011, a special gubernatorial election was scheduled for October 4, 2011. 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. Immediately before being sworn in as governor, Tomblin resigned from the state senate.
2012
Tomblin ran for re-election to a full term in 2012, and defeated Maloney in a rematch.
Tenure In the 2016 presidential election, Tomblin endorsed fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Abortion Tomblin is anti-abortion. 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.Associated Press (March 29, 2014) – "WV Governor Vetoes Abortion Bill, Sparking Outrage From National Pro-Life Group". Fox News. Retrieved March 9, 2015. In March 2015, Tomblin again vetoed the bill; however, his veto was overridden by the West Virginia legislature.La Ganga, Maria (March 3, 2015) – "West Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Abortion At 20 Weeks". Los-Angeles Times. Retrieved March 9, 2015.Eyre, Eric & Nuzum, Lydia (March 6, 2015) – "20-Week Abortion Ban to Become W.Va. Law; Senate Overrides Tomblin Veto". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
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.Kercheval, Hoppy (May 9, 2013) – "Poll Numbers Show Manchin, Capito, Tomblin, Tennant Strength". WV MetroNews. Retrieved March 10, 2015. 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.Jensen, Tom (September 25, 2013) – "West Virginia Miscellany". Public Policy Polling. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
Term limit Tomblin was barred from running for a second full term in 2016. Under the constitution, a partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.
Personal life Tomblin was married on September 8, 1979, to Joanne Tomblin, 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. 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, 1974PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticTom Mathis7,13925.24DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin7,08625.06DemocraticSammy Dalton7,06124.97DemocraticCharles Gilliam6,99324.73 West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1976PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)8,54514.88DemocraticDenver Mathis (inc.)7,64113.31DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)6,74511.75DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)6,52311.36DemocraticWilliam Calyton4,3317.54DemocraticMike Hill4,1447.22DemocraticJimmy Vance3,2745.70DemocraticCris Farley3,2465.65DemocraticJohn Mendez3,1695.52DemocraticSim Howze Jr.2,1973.83DemocraticFlorena Colvin1,6182.82DemocraticDollie Mae Hill1,5562.71DemocraticHomer Vaughan1,5352.67DemocraticCharles Jesse Dillon1,2612.20DemocraticRobert Marcum Jr.8441.47DemocraticGreg Anderson Adams7831.36 West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1976PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticThomas Mathis (inc.)17,87225.15DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)17,84325.11DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)17,70124.91DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)17,64124.83 West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Democratic Primary Election, 1978PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)8,11918.66DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)7,86318.07DemocraticTomas Mathis (inc.)6,99016.07DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)6,76615.55DemocraticClaude Ellis4,3409.98DemocraticGary Hoke3,3437.68DemocraticLarry Hendricks3,1777.30DemocraticJames Trent2,9056.68 West Virginia House of Delegates District 16 Election, 1978PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticTom Mathis (inc.)11,52321.10DemocraticSammy Dalton (inc.)11,50121.06DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)11,43920.94DemocraticCharles Gilliam (inc.)11,39520.86RepublicanShirley Mae Baisden4,7218.64RepublicanSamuel Dingess4,0437.40 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1980PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin12,18357.02DemocraticMoss Burgess4,98223.32DemocraticDanny Dahill4,20019.66 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1980PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin28,06572.04RepublicanDennis Fillinger10,89527.96 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1984PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)28,29774.99RepublicanEmil Baldwin Sr.9,43625.01 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1988PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)15,47059.21DemocraticArt Kirkendoll10,65940.79 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1988PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)25,840100.00 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1992PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)26,198100.00 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 1996PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)15,58060.98DemocraticLarry Hendricks6,61025.87DemocraticMoss Burgess3,35913.15 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 1996PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)25,39681.45RepublicanStephen Ray Smith5,78318.55 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2000PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)26,408100.00 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 2004PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)17,19481.30DemocraticBruce "Becky" Hobbs3,95518.70 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2004PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)27,14774.48RepublicanBilly Marcum9,30025.52 West Virginia State Senate District 7 Election, 2008PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)24,01073.15RepublicanBilly Marcum8,81326.85 West Virginia Gubernatorial Special Democratic Primary Election, 2011PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin51,34840.40DemocraticRick Thompson30,63124.10DemocraticNatalie Tennant22,10617.39DemocraticJohn Perdue15,99512.58DemocraticJeffrey Kessler6,5505.15DemocraticArne Moltis4810.38 West Virginia Gubernatorial Special Election, 2011PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin149,20249.55RepublicanBill Maloney141,65647.05MountainBob Henry Baber6,0832.02IndependentMarla Dee Ingels2,8750.95American Third PositionHarry Bertram1,1110.37Write-inPhil Hudok760.03Write-inDonald Lee Underwood540.02Write-inJohn "Rick" Bartlett270.01 West Virginia Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election, 2012PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)170,48184.37DemocraticArne Moltis31,58715.63 West Virginia Gubernatorial Election, 2012PartyCandidateVotes%DemocraticEarl Ray Tomblin (inc.)335,46850.49RepublicanBill Maloney303,29145.65MountainJesse Johnson16,7872.53LibertarianDavid Moran8,9091.34
Notes
References
External links