Rupert Phillips
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rupert W. "Rupie" Phillips, Jr. (born February 17, 1969) is an American politician and a Republican member of the
West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in t ...
since
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served in the
West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...
representing the 19th and 24th Districts from 2011 to 2019.


Politics

First elected as a Democrat to the House of Delegates in 2010, Phillips switched his party registration from Democrat to Independent after the
2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 ...
. After a few months as an independent in 2017, Phillips became a Republican and announced a run for the Third Congressional District seat, being vacated by then-Representative Evan Jenkins in 2018. Phillips finished second in the primary to future Congresswoman and then-fellow Delegate Carol Miller. After his unsuccessful Congressional run, Phillips ran as the Republican nominee for the West Virginia Senate 7th District in 2020, where he beat then-Democratic Delegate
Ralph Rodighiero Ralph Rodighiero (born May 26, 1963) is an American politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 24th district from 2014 until 2020. He also previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 19th distri ...
in the general election.


Personal

Phillips graduated from
Man High School Logan County Schools is the operating school district within Logan County, West Virginia. It is governed by the Logan County Board of Education. Schools Elementary Schools * Buffalo Elementary School * Chapmanville Primary School * Chapman ...
. At one point, the license plate on his personal vehicle spelled "COALDEL," for coal delegate, and his twitter biography read, “I eat coal for breakfast.” reflecting his support of the coal industry. He was arrested and charged with domestic battery in 2012. In January 2016, Phillips garnered national headlines for handing out bottles of sunscreen to other Delegates on the House floor to ridicule global warming.


Elections

Senate: U.S. House: House of Delegates: 2012: After being redistricted to District 24 alongside former delegate Lidella Hrutkay, Phillips ran in the seven-way Democratic Primary and placed first with 2,917 votes (26.2%) ahead of Ted Tomblin, who placed second, and former Representative Hrutkay, who took third. Phillips and Tomblin were unopposed for the November general election where Phillips placed second with 6,861 votes (47.4%). 2010: Phillips ran in the eleven-way Democratic Primary and placed third with 3,205 votes (13.0%) ahead of former delegate Ted Ellis. The frontrunners won the six-way four-position November general election where Phillips placed fourth with 8,672 votes (18.1%) behind incumbent Representatives
Ralph Rodighiero Ralph Rodighiero (born May 26, 1963) is an American politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 24th district from 2014 until 2020. He also previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 19th distri ...
, Greg Butcher, and Josh Stowers and ahead of Republican nominees Chad Story and Elias Gregory, who had run for the seat in 2006. 2008: Phillips ran in the twelve-way Democratic Primary, but did not place in the top four in the multimember district. The frontrunners were unopposed for the four-position General election.


See also

*
List of American politicians who switched parties in office The following American politicians switched parties while they were holding elected office. Federal State Local See also * List of Canadian politicians who have crossed the floor * List of elected British politicians who have chang ...


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 o ...
*
Rupert Phillips, Jr.
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 ...

Rupert (Rupie) Phillips, Jr.
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Rupert Place of birth missing (living people) 1969 births Living people People from Logan County, West Virginia West Virginia Democrats 21st-century American politicians West Virginia Independents West Virginia Republicans