Earl Ray Tomblin

Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 35th Governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. Prior to becoming governor, Tomblin served as President of the West Virginia Senate for almost 17 years. Tomblin became acting governor in November 2010 following Joe Manchin's election to the U.S. Senate. He won a special election in October 2011 to fill the unexpired term ending in January 2013 and was elected to a first full term as governor in November 2012.

Tomblin was born in Logan County, West Virginia, and is the son of Freda M. (née Jarrell) and Earl Tomblin. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from West Virginia University where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and then went along to receive a Master of Business Administration degree from Marshall University.

Tomblin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974, and reelected in 1976 and 1978. He won election to the Senate in 1980 and was subsequently re-elected every four years until his election as governor.

Tomblin was elected on January 3, 1995, as the 48th President of the West Virginia Senate. Having served in the position for almost seventeen years, he is the longest serving Senate President in West Virginia's history. Tomblin became the first Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia upon creation of the honorary designation in 2000.

As a senator, he represented the 7th Senate District encompassing Boone, Lincoln, Logan, and Wayne counties.

Acting governor

Tomblin began exercising the duties of governor when Joe Manchin resigned after being elected the state's U.S. Senator, filling the seat vacated by the late Senator Robert Byrd. Tomblin is the first person to act as governor under West Virginia's current constitution.

While acting as governor, Tomblin retained the title of Senate President as required by the West Virginia Constitution. Tomblin did not participate in legislative business or accept his legislative salary while acting as governor. Tomblin also did not preside over the Senate while acting as governor.

2011 gubernatorial campaign

In 2011, Tomblin stated his desire to run for the office of governor. Following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals on January 18, 2011, a special gubernatorial election was scheduled for October 4, 2011. Tomblin was successful in the Democratic Primary, beating a field of six contenders, while Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney emerged as the Republican nominee in the May 14 primary. He went on to win the general election against Maloney and was sworn in as governor on November 13, 2011. Immediately before taking the oath as governor, Tomblin officially resigned from both the offices of Senate President and state senator.

2012 election

The 2012 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012. Tomblin defeated the Republican candidate Bill Maloney.

Tenure

In the 2016 presidential election, Tomblin endorsed fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Abortion

Tomblin has said that he is pro-life.

Despite this, in March 2014, Tomblin vetoed a bill that would have banned abortions in West Virginia after 20 weeks, which he said was due to constitutionality issues. In March 2015, Tomblin again vetoed the bill, however his veto was overridden by the West Virginia legislature.

Approval ratings

A May 2013 survey by Republican strategist Mark Blankenship showed Tombin's job approval rating to be at 69 percent, unchanged from two months earlier. According to a poll conduced by Public Policy Polling in September 2013, Tomblin had an approval rating of 47 percent with 35 percent disapproving, up from 44 percent in 2011.

Tomblin was married on September 8, 1979 to Joanne Jaeger, a native New Yorker and graduate of Marshall University, who served as the president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College from 1999 to 2015. They reside in Chapmanville and have one son, Brent. Tomblin attends the First Presbyterian Church of Logan.