Robert Gene Ashley (July 4, 1953 – May 14, 2024) was an American politician from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. As a member of the Republican Party, Ashley served in 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 the 28th district from January 1985 to January 1999 and the 11th district from 2001 to 2015, as well as in 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 West Virginia Democratic Party, Democratic P ...

for the 3rd district between 2015 and 2017.

Personal life

Ashley earned his BBA from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

. Ashley married Anita Harold in 1981. She would later be elected to the state's fifth judicial

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

, covering the counties of

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia * Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kentucky * Calhoun, Louis ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

, and his native Roane. Ashley died in Charleston on May 14, 2024, at the age of 70.

Elections

*2012 Ashley was unopposed for the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 1,475 votes; returning 2010 opponent Mark Myers ran as the

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, setting up a rematch. Ashley won the November 6, 2012 General election with 4,699 votes (81.1%) against Myers. *1980s and 1990s Ashley was initially elected in the 1984 Republican Primary and November 6, 1984 General election, and re-elected in the general elections of November 4, 1986, November 8, 1988, November 6, 1990, November 2, 1992, November 8, 1994, and November 5, 1996. *1998 Ashley was unopposed for the 1998 Republican Primary but lost the November 3, 1998 General election to Democratic nominee Oscar Hines. *2000 Ashley and Representative Hines were both unopposed for their 2000 primaries, setting up a rematch; Ashley won the November 7, 2000 General election against Representative Hines. *2002 Ashley was unopposed for the 2002 Republican Primary and was re-elected in the November 5, 2002 General election against Democratic nominee Bill Groves. *2004 Ashley was unopposed for both the 2004 Republican Primary and the November 2, 2004 General election. *2006 Ashley was unopposed for both the 2006 Republican Primary and the November 7, 2006 General election. *2008 Ashley was unopposed for both the May 13, 2008 Republican Primary, winning with 1,513 votes, and the November 4, 2008 General election, winning with 4,983 votes. *2010 Ashley was unopposed for the May 11, 2010 Republican Primary, winning with 1,069 votes, and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 3,266 votes (80.9%) against Mountain Party candidate Mark Myers.

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 ...

Robert Ashley
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 ...

Bob Ashley
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics 1953 births 2024 deaths Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Republican Party West Virginia state senators 20th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia People from Spencer, West Virginia Marshall University alumni {{WestVirginia-politician-stub