John "JB" McCuskey (born 1981 in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

) is an American lawyer and politician who is serving as the 35th

attorney general of West Virginia The attorney general of West Virginia is the chief legal advisor to the West Virginia state government and is the state's chief law enforcement officer. The office was created by Article VII, Section 1 of the first Constitution of West Virg ...

since 2025. As a Republican, he has previously served as the

West Virginia State Auditor The state auditor of West Virginia is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The incumbent is Mark Hunt, a Republican. Powers and duties Bookkeeping responsibilities Article X, Section 3 of ...

from 2017 to 2025. He also was a 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 35 from 2013 to 2017. On February 28, 2023, he announced he would run for

governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

to attempt to succeed term limited 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 ...

. However, in July 2023 he announced that he would run for

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

instead. McCuskey was elected West Virginia's 35th attorney general in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, defeating Democrat Teresa Toriseva in a landslide victory.

Education

McCuskey earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

political communication Political communication is the study of political messaging that is communicated, usually to the public e.g. political campaigns, speeches and political advertising, often concerning the mass media. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws f ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the West Virginia University College of Law.

Elections

*2012 With the redistricting of District 35, which is represented by four delegates, McCuskey was among ten candidates in the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary and placed third with 1,969 votes (18.2%). He placed fourth out of eight candidates in the November 6, 2012 General election by 41 votes with 11,325 votes (12.0%), behind incumbent Democratic Representative

Doug Skaff Douglas John Skaff Jr. (November 10, 1976June 10, 2025) was an American politician from the state of West Virginia. Skaff served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, most recently representing the 57th district, as a member of th ...

, fellow Republican selectees Suzette Raines and Eric Nelson, and losers incumbent Democratic Representatives

Bobbie Hatfield Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People *Bobby (given name), a list of names *Bobby (surname), a list of surnames *Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh *Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea *Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * ...

and Bonnie Brown, Democratic nominee Chris Morris, and fellow Republican nominee Fred Joseph. *2014 McCuskey was reelected to the House. *2016 McCuskey defeated Mary Ann Claytor with 58% of the vote for State Auditor.

References

External links

Campaign site
*
John B. McCuskey
at

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John B. McCuskey
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics , - , - , - 1981 births 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs alumni Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia Living people Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates State auditors of West Virginia West Virginia attorneys general West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University College of Law alumni {{WestVirginia-politician-stub