Erik Patrick Wells (born February 5, 1967) is an American politician and former television news anchor. Wells was born and raised in California, but moved to

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 ...

in the early 1990s to further his career in journalism. Wells was a popular co-anchor in the state's capital, Charleston, while on a morning show called ''Good Morning, West Virginia'' with his wife

Natalie Tennant Natalie E. Tennant (born December 25, 1967) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2009 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virgin ...

on WCHS TV. After leaving television news, Wells and his wife decided to pursue political careers. Wells was the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's Second Congressional District. Wells campaigned aggressively against incumbent

Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the ...

, claiming that she was hypocritical in only agreeing to one debate when, in the 2000 Congressional Campaign, she had urged her opponent to debate in every county in the Congressional district. Despite a stronger than expected showing by Wells, Capito maintained her seat. In 2006, Wells was elected to 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 ...

, representing the 8th district. He defeated Dave Higgins in the Democratic Primary and Charleston lawyer and former WVU football letterman Mark Plants in the general election. Wells was defeated for re-election in 2014. Wells is married to

, former

Secretary of State of West Virginia The secretary of state of West Virginia is an elected office within the U.S. state of West Virginia state government. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing the state's election process, including voter registration and election ...

. Erik and Natalie reside in Charleston and have one daughter, Delaney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Erik Living people 1967 births Politicians from Santa Monica, California Saint Vincent College alumni West Virginia University alumni Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia West Virginia state senators Journalists from West Virginia Journalists from California 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature