Clark Barnes
Clark S. Barnes (b. August 6, 1950) is a former Republican member of the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 11 from 2004 to 2015. Barnes resigned at the beginning of the 2015 legislative session after being elected Senate Clerk.[1]
Barnes has served as Minority Whip since 2007.
Biography
Barnes attended Northern Virginia Community College. He earned his AAS in business administration from Davis and Elkins College. He went on to receive his B.A. from West Virginia University. He then earned his M.S. from Pensacola Christian College.
Barnes has worked as president of Barnes and Associates, Incorporated since 1985. He also has worked as a project manager for Underground Technology Corporation. He served in the United States Army from 1973 to 1976.[2]
In 2011, Barnes ran for Governor of West Virginia in the 2011 special election. However, he lost the May 14, 2011, primary, placing third.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Barnes served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Rules |
| • Economic Development |
| • Children and Poverty |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
| • Labor |
| • Energy, Industry and Mining |
| • Finance |
| • Education |
| • Children, Juveniles and Other Issues |
| • Joint Education |
| • Government Operations |
| • Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Barnes served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Economic Development |
| • Education |
| • Joint Education |
| • Enrolled Bills |
| • Government Operations |
| • Judiciary |
| • Joint Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Barnes served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Enrolled Bills |
| • Judiciary |
| • Labor |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
Elections
2012
Barnes ran in the 2012 election for West Virginia State Senate, District 11. Barnes ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and defeated Margaret Kerr Beckwith in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Clark Barnes Incumbent |
68% | 20,045 | |
| Democratic | Margaret Kerr Beckwitth | 32% | 9,454 | |
| Total Votes | 29,499 | |||
2011
West Virginia was not scheduled to hold a gubernatorial election until 2012. However, elected Democrat Joe Manchin gave up the seat to join the U.S. Senate in the 2010 midterms. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, also a Democrat, took over the office as the Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia is a title accorded to the legislator elected as Senate President, and is next in succession to the office of governor.
Trimming regulation was a major theme of Barnes' 2011 candidacy. He told a local paper, "And I think that’s an attitude of government a lot of time, particularly bureaucracies, and employees within bureaucracies, is that “I was hired to stop you from doing whatever it is you want.” We need to change that attitude of every employee within state government to “I’m here to help you with whatever you want”... I get tired of reading regulations in Judiciary Committee. It’s like, do we really need to add another regulation to this, or can we just throw this whole thing out the window? And sometimes, it would seem that way."[6]
Barnes lost the primary, placing third. Republican Candidate Bill Maloney won the Republican seat.
| 2011 Race for Governor - Republican Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Clark S. Barnes | 9.58% | |||
| Mitch Carmichael | 3.35% | |||
| Ralph William Clark | 1.88% | |||
| Cliff Ellis | 0.45% | |||
| Larry V. Faircloth | 3.89% | |||
| Betty Ireland | 30.91% | |||
 Bill Maloney
|
45.11% | |||
| Mark Sorsaia | 4.84% | |||
| Total votes | 61,134 | |||
2010
Barnes' seat was not up for election in 2010.[7]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Clark Barnes won re-election to the West Virginia State Senate, District 15.[8]
Barnes raised $101,315 for his campaign, while Mike Ross raised $441,538.[9]
| West Virginia State Senate, District 15 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Clark Barnes (R)
|
25,283 | 55.90 % | ||
| Mike Ross | 19,942 | 44.10% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Barnes and his wife Deborah have four children; Thadeus, Erickson, Elizabeth, and Rachel.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of West Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 10.
- Regenerate WV - House only
- Legislators are scored on their votes for or against Regenerate WV's position.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on lawsuit-related legislation.
- Legislators are scored by the West Virginia Sierra Club on their votes on the Water Resources Protection Act and its amendments.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Clark Barnes West Virginia Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- West Virginia State Legislature
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia Senate Committees
- West Virginia Joint Committees
- West Virginia state legislative districts
- West Virginia state executive official elections, 2011
- Governor of West Virginia
- Earl Ray Tomblin
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Senate Begins 2015 Session, Elects Bill Cole Senate President," January 14, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Sen. Barnes," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ The Register-Herald, "Gubernatorial candidate profiles: Republican Clark Barnes," May 3, 2011
- ↑ Secretary of State, "West Virginia official list of 2010 candidates," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 contributions," accessed April 30, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Laird (D) |
West Virginia State Senate District 11 2012–2015 |
Succeeded by TBA |
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia State Senate District 15 2004–2012 |
Succeeded by Craig P. Blair (R) |
