Bill Cole (West Virginia politician)

William Paul Cole III (born May 16, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and a former Republican member of the West Virginia Senate, representing the 6th district from 2013 to 2017. He was the President of the Senate (and thus first in line to the governorship) from 2015 to 2017. Cole also served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from May 28, 2010, to January 12, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Delegate John Shott.[1]

Bill Cole
President of the West Virginia Senate
In office January 14, 2015 – January 11, 2017
Preceded by	Jeff Kessler
Succeeded by	Mitch Carmichael
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 6th district
In office January 9, 2013 – January 11, 2017
Preceded by	Mark Wills
Succeeded by	Chandler Swope
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 24th district
In office May 28, 2010 – January 12, 2011
Preceded by	John Shott
Succeeded by	Marty Gearheart
Personal details
Born	William Paul Cole III May 16, 1956 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Brownie Deemer
Children	4
Education	Northwood University (BBA)

Cole was the Republican nominee for West Virginia Governor in 2016, choosing to run for the office rather than run for re-election to the state senate.[2] He lost the election to Jim Justice and was succeeded by Mitch Carmichael as Senate President.

Family and education

After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Northwood University, Cole returned to Bluefield, West Virginia, to work in his family business operated by his father, Paul Cole, who was Bluefield, West Virginia's longest-serving mayor. He has two daughters Elizabeth and Taylor. His two older sons, Jason and Lee, work for Cole Automotive Group.

Elections

In 2012, Cole challenged Democratic Senator and former state Delegate Mark Wills, who had been appointed to the post. Cole was unopposed in the Republican Primary held on May 8, 2012. Cole received 2,757 votes in the primary.[3] He went on to win the November 6, 2012 General election with 18,598 votes and 53.3% of the vote against Senator Wills.[4]

In 2015, Cole declared his candidacy for Governor of West Virginia in the 2016 election.[5] Senator Shelley Moore Capito, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones and West Virginia's three congressmen all endorsed Cole,[6] essentially clearing the path for Cole to become the Republican nominee uncontested. Cole received fundraising support from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence[7] and from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.[8] Cole lost the general election to businessman Jim Justice.[9]

Tenure

Following the Republican takeover of the State Senate, the GOP Caucus elected him President of the Senate.[10] He was the first Republican to hold the post in 82 years.

In 2015 Cole, who is an auto dealer in his home state and Kentucky, championed Senate Bill 453, which restricts car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers, instead requiring they sell through franchises.[11][12][13] In December 2015, Cole wrote an official letter to the Surface Transportation Board, opposing a proposed merger of the Norfolk Southern Railway with the Canadian Pacific railway.[14] Canadian Pacific broke off negotiations in April 2016.[15]

Among the bills signed into law during Cole's tenure as Senate president include making the election of judges nonpartisan,[16] banning abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy,[17] legalizing concealed carry without need of a permit,[18] repealing the state's prevailing wage law,[19] and enacting a right-to-work law.[7][20] The latter four bills were enacted into law over Democratic governor Earl Ray Tomblin's veto.

In May 2016 Cole endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during Trump's campaign rally at the Charleston Civic Center.[21]

Electoral history

West Virginia State Senate 6th District Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Cole	18,598	53.28
	Democratic	Mark Wills (inc.)	16,307	46.72
Total	34,905	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Justice	350,408	49.09%
	Republican	Bill Cole	301,987	42.30%
	Mountain	Charlotte Pritt	42,068	5.89%
	Libertarian	David Moran	15,354	2.15%
style="background-color: CC0C2F;" width=0.3em |	Constitution	Phil Hudok	4,041	0.57%
Total	713,858	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Manchin, Joe (May 28, 2010). "Governor Appoints Bill Cole to Fill the 24th District West Virginia House of Delegates Seat". Governor of West Virginia. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
2. "UPDATE: GOP State Senate President Cole Enters W.Va. Governor's Race". WTAP-TV. Associated Press. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2016. The prominent auto dealer made his announcement Tuesday morning at a Nissan dealership he owns near Bluefield.
3. "Statewide Results Primary Election May 8, 2012 Official Results". Charleston, West Virginia: Secretary of State of West Virginia. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
4. "Statewide Results General Election November 6, 2012 Official Results". Charleston, West Virginia: Secretary of State of West Virginia. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
5. Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, announces run for WV governor
6. "Senator Capito Backs Bill Cole for Governor". billcolewv.com. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
7. Gutman, David (7 June 2016). "Indiana governor fundraises for Cole, talks right-to-work". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2016. Speaking to about 70 donors at the Embassy Suites hotel, Pence touted his state’s right-to-work law, passed by his predecessor in 2012, and praised Cole for passing a right-to-work law this spring.
8. Gutman, David (31 May 2016). "Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry talks energy, Trump in Charleston". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2016. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited Charleston on Tuesday to raise money for Senate President Bill Cole’s run for governor, boost Donald Trump’s run for the presidency and to tout business-friendly policy proposals.
9. "Jim Justice beats Bill Cole in West Virginia governor's race". Archived from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
10. "Armstead chosen as House speaker, Cole selected as Senate president in GOP caucus". WV MetroNews. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2016. Later, Republican members of the state Senate, which hold an 18-16 edge, choose Mercer County Senator Bill Cole as the new Senate president in a mid-afternoon caucus.
11. Jenkins, Jeff (March 15, 2015). "Car sales bill being debated". MetroNews. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
12. Kravets, David (April 4, 2015). "West Virginia is the latest state to ban Tesla direct sales". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
13. Lavrinc, Damon (April 3, 2015). "Funny How Tesla Can't Sell In A State Where Lt. Governor Is A Dealer". Jalopnik. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
14. "West Virginia Lt. Governor Cole Dec. 23" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-08. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
15. Marowits, Ross (10 April 2016). "Canadian Pacific Railway abandons bid to buy Norfolk Southern Corp". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
16. "Nonpartisan election of judges becomes law in WV - Business, Government Legal News from throughout WV". Statejournal.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
17. "Charleston Gazette-Mail | 20-week abortion ban to become W.Va. law; Senate overrides Tomblin veto". Wvgazettemail.com. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
18. "West Virginia legalizes concealed carry without a permit". Fox News. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
19. "UPDATE: Lawmakers Override Tomblin Prevailing Wage Veto". WSAZ (from AP). February 12, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
20. "West Virginia Democrats Going After Union Vote". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016. Senate President Bill Cole, the lead Republican running in an open governor’s race, spearheaded the right-to-work push.
21. Marks, Rusty (5 May 2016). "Sanders, Trump WV rallies like night and day". State Journal. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016. 'You're not going to find a political candidate where you agree with 100 percent of what they say,' Cole said. But he said he thinks Trump's 'heart is in the right place' in his desire to help the country and save coal and other industrial jobs.

External links

• Official page at the West Virginia Legislature (Archived)
• Campaign site (Archived)
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Bill Cole at Ballotpedia
• Bill Cole at the National Institute on Money in State Politics