Michael Craig Folk (born in

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

) is 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 ...

. A Republican, he was formerly 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 63.

Education

Folk is a graduate of Hedgesville High School. He earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from Shepherd College (now

Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...

) and his

master of business administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

Elections

*2012: Folk ran in the May 8, 2012, Republican primary and won by 17 votes with 485 votes (51.4%), and won the November 6, 2012 general election with 3,096 votes (51.2%) against Democratic nominee Donn Marshall, who had run for a seat in 2010. *2014: Folk won re-election to the 63rd District, defeating Heather Marshall — wife of his 2012 opponent — by receiving 60.99% of the vote. *2016: Folk won a third term in the House by defeating Democratic challenger Kenneth Lemaster, receiving 58.5% of the vote. *2018: Folk sought election 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 ...

in the 16th district, but was defeated by incumbent

John Unger John Ronald Unger II is a former American politician and magistrate. Prior to his appointment as a Berkeley County magistrate, Unger represented the West Virginia's 16th Senate district, 16th district in the West Virginia Senate from 1999 to 202 ...

Candidacy for Governor

On February 5, 2019, Folk announced he would challenge West Virginia 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 ...

in the state's 2020 primary elections.

Controversy

On July 15, 2016, Folk tweeted that

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

should be "hung on the Mall in Washington, DC" in response to her email controversy. He later stated that he regretted the comment, but reiterated his belief that Clinton should be tried for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. Two days later, Folk was suspended from his job as a pilot for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

over the comment.

Education

Elections

Candidacy for Governor

Controversy

References

External links