Daryl Edward Cowles (born September 27, 1970) is an American politician and a Republican former member of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...

representing District 58 from 2013 until his defeat in 2020. Cowles also served consecutively from January 2007 until January 2013 in the 51st District. During his time in the Legislature, Cowles served as the first Republican Majority Leader in the House of Delegates after Republicans took control of the chamber for the first time in eight decades. Cowles later served as Speaker pro tempore. After his defeat, Cowles was selected by Governor

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36th gover ...

to be his representative for constituent services in the Eastern Panhandle. Cowles has also served as director of the Morgan County Economic Development Authority.

Education

Cowles earned his AAS degree in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from Valley College.

Elections

*2020: Despite his prior service as Majority Leader and status as Speaker Pro Tempore, Cowles faced a competitive primary challenge from George Miller, a retired maintenance supervisor and owner of a home improvement business. Miller defeat Cowles by a narrow 52-48% margin. *2014: Cowles was re-elected to the 58th District, defeating

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate Brenda Hutchinson. As the Republican Party gained control of the state House of Delegates, Cowles became the majority leader. *2012 Redistricted to District 58, and with incumbent Representative Tiffany Lawrence redistricted to District 65, Cowles was unopposed for both the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary with 1,450 votes, and the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 5,699 votes. *2006 When District 51 Republican Representative Charles Trump retired and left the seat open, Cowles won the three-way 2006 Republican Primary and won the three-way November 7, 2006 General election against Democratic nominee Gary Nelson and

Mountain Party The Mountain Party, also known as the West Virginia Green Party and the West Virginia Workers’ Party, is a political party in West Virginia affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. It is a progressive and environmentalist party ...

candidate Robin Mills. *2008 Cowles and returning 2006 Mountain Party candidate Robin Mills were both unopposed, setting up a rematch; Cowles won the November 4, 2008 General election with 5,131 votes (75.5%) against Mills. *2010 Cowles was unopposed for the May 11, 2010 Republican Primary, winning with 945 votes, and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 4,030 votes (71.2%) against Democratic nominee Alton Wolfe.

References

External links

Official page
at the

West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI ...

Campaign site
*
Daryl Cowles
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Daryl E. Cowles
at

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, - 1970 births Living people Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Morgan County, West Virginia Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature {{WestVirginia-politician-stub