Tom Takubo is a 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 the 17th district since January 14, 2015. Takubo also serves as Majority Leader of the West Virginia Senate, succeeding

Ryan Ferns Ryan James Ferns (born December 2, 1982) is an American politician from the state of West Virginia. He was a member of the West Virginia Senate for the 1st district. Ferns was defeated for reelection in 2018 by Democratic candidate William J. Ih ...

who was defeated in the

2018 West Virginia Senate election The 2018 West Virginia Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the biennial United States elections. 17 of West Virginia's 34 state senators were up for election. West Virginia Senate districts each have two elected representa ...

. Takubo's mother is from

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

and his biological father was from Japan. Takubo's parents divorced when he was a child, and his mother remarried. He attended

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 ...

and received his D.O. from the

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. He is a business owner and serves on the medical faculty for

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 ...

. Takubo has three children. He lives in the Southridge area of South Charleston.

Election results

2018: Takubo ran for re-election in 2018 and was unopposed in the May Republican primary. Takubo faced Terrell Ellis, a longtime

Kanawha County Kanawha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital and most po ...

community and economic developer, in the November general election. Despite being outspent in the race, Takubo beat Ellis by a slim 52.5%-47.5% margin to win a second term. 2014: After 16 years in the Senate, Democratic Senator and small business owner

Brooks McCabe Brooks F. McCabe, Jr. was a Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 17th district in Kanawha County. First elected in 1998, Brooks served for eight years as chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development. He ...

retired, leaving an open seat in District 17. Takubo, a doctor and small business owner, ran for the seat and faced Lance Wheeler in the Republican primary. Takubo beat Wheeler by a 68%-32% margin to advance to the November general election, where he faced Democratic nominee Delegate and Assistant Majority Whip

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 ...

and Mountain Party nominee Jesse Johnson. Takubo beat Skaff and Johnson as part of a Republican wave election that saw Republicans take both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature for the first time in eight decades. *

References

1971 births 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature 21st-century Asian-American politicians American osteopathic physicians American politicians of Japanese descent Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators Asian-American people in West Virginia politics Asian conservatism in the United States Living people Marshall University alumni People from South Charleston, West Virginia Physicians from West Virginia Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Republican Party West Virginia state senators West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine alumni {{WestVirginia-politician-stub