Mitchell Carmichael (born April 15, 1960) is an American politician. He is a former 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 West Virginia Democratic Party, Democratic P ...

representing

District 4 District 4 can refer to: * District 4, Düsseldorf, in Germany * District 4, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia * District 4 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam * District 4 (New York City Council), in the United States * IV District, Turku, in Finland *Aus ...

from 2012 until his defeat in 2020. Prior to his service in the Senate, Carmichael 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 District 12 from 2000 through 2012. Carmichael was also a candidate 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 ...

in the

2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election The 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election was a special election held on October 4, 2011, to fill the office of the West Virginia Governor, which became vacant when Joe Manchin resigned after he won a U.S. Senate special election ...

. As President of the state Senate from January 2017 to January 2021, he held the title

Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia The president of the West Virginia Senate is a member of the West Virginia Senate who has been elected to be its president by the other senators. The current Senate president is Randy Smith, who has been in office since January 8, 2025. In ad ...

. After his defeat in 2020, 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 ...

appointed Carmichael as West Virginia's economic development director.

Elections

*2020: In the June 2020 Republican primary, Carmichael lost his bid for re-nomination to Amy Nichole Grady, a elementary school teacher who challenged Carmichael amid a state political battle over teacher pay.Madeline Will
Elementary Teacher Defeats West Virginia's State Senate President in Primary
''Education Week'' (June 10, 2020). Grady won 39% of the vote to Carmichael's 35%. * * *2016: In the May 2016 Republican primary, Majority Leader Carmichael faced criticism from pro-union and pro-family groups based on a variety of votes and legislation. He was challenged by Dustin Lewis, a union pipeline worker, who he beat 59.5% to 40.5%. Carmichael then faced personal injury attorney Brian Prim in the general election, who he beat by a narrow 51% to 49% to a win a second term in the senate. * * *2012: When District 4 Senator Karen Facemyer retired and left a district seat open, Carmichael was unopposed in the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 8,432 votes. He then won the November 6, 2012 General election with 20,951 votes (52.69%) against Democratic nominee Jackson County, West Virginia Sheriff Mike Bright. *2011: When incumbent Democratic Governor

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as ...

left his position for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, Carmichael ran in the eight-way May 14, 2011 Republican Primary, but lost to

Bill Maloney Bill Maloney is an American businessman and politician. He was a two-time candidate for the governorship of West Virginia. He was the Republican nominee in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, in which he lost by 7,546 votes, a ...

; Maloney lost the October 4, 2011 special election to state Senator

Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as p ...

. *2010: Carmichael and returning 2008 Democratic challenger Jo Boggess Phillips were both unopposed for their May 11, 2010 primaries, setting up a rematch; Carmichael won the November 2, 2010 General election with 3,383 votes (50.9%) against Phillips in his closest election to date. *2008: Carmichael was unopposed for the 2008 Republican Primary, and won the November 4, 2008 General election with 4,454 votes (53.1%) against Democratic nominee Jo Boggess Phillips. *2006: Carmichael was challenged in the 2006 Republican Primary but won. He then won the November 7, 2006 General election with 4,063 votes (62.5%) against Democratic nominee Steve Nicholas. *2004: Carmichael was unopposed for the 2004 Republican Primary, and won the November 2, 2004 General election with 5,944 votes (67.5%) against Democratic nominee Corbon Siders. *2002: Carmichael was unopposed for the 2002 Republican Primary, and won the November 5, 2002 General election with 3,969 votes (65.8%) against Democratic nominee Carroll Jett, who had run for the seat in 1998. *2000: When House District 12 Republican Delegate Karen Facemyer ran for the

and left the seat open, Carmichael won the three-way 2000 Republican Primary with 1,016 votes (41.7%). He then won the November 7, 2000 General election with 4,584 votes (59.3%) against Democratic nominee Mike Dunlap.

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 ...

*
Mitch Carmichael
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 ...

Mitch B. Carmichael
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Mitch 1960 births Living people Marshall University alumni Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia People from Jackson County, West Virginia Presidents of the West Virginia Senate Republican Party West Virginia state senators 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature