President of the West Virginia Senate

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 Craig Blair, who has been in office since January 2021. Earl Ray Tomblin was the first Senate president and to have the title **Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia**.

## List

The presidents of the West Virginia Senate since 1863:

|#|colspan="3"|Senate President|Term start|Term end|Party|colspan="2"|Governor|||||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|bgcolor=""|||John Phelps <small>    1821 – August 26, 1884   </small> <small>(aged 63)</small>|June 20, 1863|January 19, 1864|Republican|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="3" style="border-style: solid solid none solid"|Arthur Boreman|||||||
|2|bgcolor=""|||William Stevenson <small>    March 18, 1820 – November 29, 1883   </small> <small>(aged 63)</small>|January 19, 1864|January 19, 1869|Republican|||||||||||
|3|bgcolor=""|||Daniel Farnsworth <small>    December 23, 1819 – December 5, 1892   </small> <small>(aged 72)</small>|January 19, 1869|January 17, 1871|Republican|||||||||||
||bgcolor=""|||Joseph T. Hoke <small>    February 6, 1835 – July 27, 1910   </small> <small>(aged 75)</small>|_February 26, 1869_|_March 4, 1869_|Republican|bgcolor=""||Daniel Farnsworth _(acting)_||||||||
|3|bgcolor=""|||Daniel Farnsworth <small>    December 23, 1819 – December 5, 1892   </small> <small>(aged 72)</small>|January 19, 1869|January 17, 1871|Republican|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|William Stevenson|||||||
|rowspan="2"|4|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Lewis Baker <small>    November 11, 1832 – April 30, 1899   </small> <small>(aged 66)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 17, 1871|rowspan="2"|January 16, 1872|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="3" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|John Jacob|||||||||||||||
|5|bgcolor=""|||Carlos Sperry <small>    July 28, 1832 – May 9, 1905   </small> <small>(aged 72)</small>|January 16, 1872|August 22, 1872|Democratic|||||||||||
|6|bgcolor=""|||Daniel Johnson <small>    April 28, 1836 – December 18, 1893   </small> <small>(aged 57)</small>|November 19, 1872|January 10, 1877|Democratic|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|7|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Ulysses Arnett <small>    November 7, 1820 – December 1, 1880   </small> <small>(aged 60)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 10, 1877|rowspan="2"|January 8, 1879|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Henry Mathews|||||||||||||||
|8|bgcolor=""|||Daniel Johnson <small>    April 28, 1836 – December 18, 1893   </small> <small>(aged 57)</small>|January 8, 1879|January 12, 1881|Democratic|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|9|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2'||rowspan="2"|Albert Summers <small>    January 1, 1824 – April 1, 1901   </small> <small>(aged 77)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 12, 1881|rowspan="2"|January 10, 1883|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" style="border-style: solid solid none solid" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Jacob Jackson|||||||||||||||
|10|bgcolor=""|||Thomas Farnsworth <small>    May 17, 1829 – October 12, 1916   </small> <small>(aged 87)</small>|January 10, 1883|January 14, 1885|Democratic|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|11|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|George Price <small>    November 9, 1848 – February 6, 1938   </small> <small>(aged 89)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 14, 1885|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1889|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Emmanuel Watson|||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|12|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Robert Carr <small>    November 17, 1845 – May 6, 1925   </small> <small>(aged 79)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 22, 1889|rowspan="2"|January 14, 1891|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Aretas Fleming|||||||||||||||
|13|bgcolor=""|||John McCreery <small>    July 31, 1845 – May 22, 1917   </small> <small>(aged 71)</small>|January 14, 1891|January 11, 1893|Democratic|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|14|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Rankin Wiley <small>    April 6, 1853 – February 21, 1929   </small> <small>(aged 75)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1893|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1895|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|William MacCorkle|||||||||||||||
|15|bgcolor=""|||William Worley <small>    August 1, 1846 – October 7, 1928   </small> <small>(aged 82)</small>|January 9, 1895|January 13, 1897|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|16|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Nelson Whitaker <small>    November 9, 1839 – December 28, 1909   </small> <small>(aged 70)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 13, 1897|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1899|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|George Atkinson|||||||||||||||
|17|bgcolor=""|||Oliver Marshall <small>    September 24, 1850 – May 19, 1934   </small> <small>(aged 83)</small>|January 11, 1899|January 9, 1901|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|18|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Anthony Smith <small>    January 9, 1844 – July 10, 1927   </small> <small>(aged 83)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1901|rowspan="2"|January 14, 1903|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 3em;"|Albert White|||||||||||||||
|19|bgcolor=""|||Clark May <small>    July 14, 1869 – April 25, 1908   </small> <small>(aged 38)</small>|January 14, 1903|January 11, 1905|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|20|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Gustavus Northcott <small>    April 4, 1861 – December 8, 1938   </small> <small>(aged 77)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1905|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1907|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|William Dawson|||||||||||||||
|21|bgcolor=""|||Joseph McDermott <small>    July 28, 1871 – December 12, 1930   </small> <small>(aged 59)</small>|January 9, 1907|January 13, 1909|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|22|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Lewis Forman <small>    January 7, 1855 – January 3, 1933   </small> <small>(aged 77)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 13, 1909|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1911|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="4" bgcolor=""||rowspan="3" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|William Glasscock|||||||||||||||
|23|bgcolor=""|||Robert F. Kidd <small>    February 11, 1853 – June 8, 1930   </small> <small>(aged 77)</small>|January 17, 1911|January 30, 1911|Democratic|||||||||||
|24|bgcolor=""|||Henry Hatfield <small>    September 15, 1875 – October 13, 1962   </small> <small>(aged 87)</small>|January 30, 1911|January 24, 1913|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|25|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Samuel Woods <small>    August 31, 1856 – June 1, 1937   </small> <small>(aged 80)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 24, 1913|rowspan="2"|January 13, 1915|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 3em;"|Henry Hatfield|||||||||||||||
|26|bgcolor=""|||Edward England <small>    September 29, 1869 – September 9, 1934   </small> <small>(aged 64)</small>|January 13, 1915|January 10, 1917|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|27|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Wells Goodykoontz <small>    June 3, 1872 – March 2, 1944   </small> <small>(aged 71)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 10, 1917|rowspan="2"|January 8, 1919|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|John Cornwell|||||||||||||||
|28|bgcolor=""|||Charles Sinsel <small>    June 5, 1864 – December 8, 1923   </small> <small>(aged 59)</small>|January 8, 1919|January 12, 1921|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|29|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Gohen Arnold <small>    January 5, 1885 – June 9, 1939   </small> <small>(aged 54)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 12, 1921|rowspan="2"|January 10, 1923|rowspan="2"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="4" bgcolor=""||rowspan="3" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Ephraim Morgan|||||||||||||||
|30|bgcolor=""|||Harry Schaffer <small>    January 22, 1885 – July 3, 1971   </small> <small>(aged 86)</small>|January 10, 1923|January 14, 1925|Republican|||||||||||
|31|bgcolor=""|||Charles Coffman <small>    August 30, 1875 – August 15, 1929   </small> <small>(aged 53)</small>|January 14, 1925|April 15, 1925|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="3"|32|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="3"||rowspan="3"|Montezuma White <small>    September 6, 1872 – May 10, 1945   </small> <small>(aged 72)</small>|rowspan="3"|April 15, 1925|rowspan="3"|January 11, 1933|rowspan="3"|Republican|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|bgcolor=""||Howard Gore||||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2.2em;"|William Conley|||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|33|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Albert Mathews <small>    July 31, 1872 – December 5, 1958   </small> <small>(aged 86)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1933|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1935|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2.2em;"|Herman Kump|||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|34|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Charles Hodges <small>    September 27, 1892 – May 1, 1968   </small> <small>(aged 75)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 9, 1935|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1939|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid;"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"|Homer Holt|||||||||||||||
|35|bgcolor=""|||William LaFon <small>    March 8, 1888 – February 4, 1941   </small> <small>(aged 52)</small>|January 11, 1939|January 8, 1941|Democratic|||||||||||
|36|bgcolor=""|||Byron Randolph <small>    June 12, 1906 – November 7, 1979   </small> <small>(aged 73)</small>|January 8, 1941|January 13, 1943|Democratic|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"|Matthew Neely|||||||
|37|bgcolor=""|||James Paull <small>    May 3, 1901 – March 8, 1983   </small> <small>(aged 81)</small>|January 13, 1943|January 10, 1945|Democratic|||||||||||
|38|bgcolor=""|||Arnold Vickers <small>    August 8, 1908 – December 25, 1967   </small> <small>(aged 59)</small>|January 10, 1945|January 12, 1949|Democratic|bgcolor=""||Clarence Meadows||||||||
|39|bgcolor=""|||W. Broughton Johnston <small>    May 21, 1905 – August 24, 1978   </small> <small>(aged 73)</small>|January 12, 1949|January 14, 1953|Democratic|bgcolor=""||Okey Patteson||||||||
|rowspan="2"|40|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Ralph Bean <small>    December 15, 1912 – June 7, 1978   </small> <small>(aged 65)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 14, 1953|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1961|rowspan="2"|Democratic|bgcolor=""||William Marland||
|bgcolor=""||Cecil Underwood||||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|41|rowspan="2"  bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Howard Carson <small>    April 30, 1910 – August 9, 1994   </small> <small>(aged 84)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 11, 1961|rowspan="2"|January 8, 1969|rowspan="2"|Democratic|bgcolor=""||Wally Barron||
|bgcolor=""||Hulett Smith||||||||||||||||
|42|bgcolor=""|||Lloyd Jackson <small>    May 30, 1918 – October 29, 2011   </small> <small>(aged 93)</small>|January 8, 1969|January 13, 1971|Democratic|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 2em;"|Arch Moore|||||||
|43|bgcolor=""|||E. Hansford McCourt <small>    April 21, 1909 – August 3, 1992   </small> <small>(aged 83)</small>|January 13, 1971|January 10, 1973|Democratic|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|44|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|William Brotherton <small>    April 17, 1926 – April 6, 1997   </small> <small>(aged 70)</small>|rowspan="2"|January 10, 1973|rowspan="2"|January 14, 1981|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid;"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"|Jay Rockefeller|||||||||||||||
|45|bgcolor=""|||Warren McGraw <small>    May 10, 1939 – June 14, 2023   </small> <small>(aged 84)</small>|January 14, 1981|January 9, 1985|Democratic|||||||||||
|46|bgcolor=""|||Dan Tonkovich <small>    April 17, 1946 – February 10, 2002   </small> <small>(aged 55)</small>|January 9, 1985|January 11, 1989|Democratic|rowspan="3" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2" style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 1em;"|Arch Moore|||||||
|47|bgcolor=""|||Larry Tucker <small>    April 11, 1935 – November 16, 2016   </small> <small>(aged 81)</small>|January 11, 1989|September 7, 1989|Democratic|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|48|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Keith Burdette<small></small>|rowspan="2"|September 12, 1989|rowspan="2"|January 3, 1995|rowspan="2"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid;"||||
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;padding-top: 6em;"|Gaston Caperton|||||||||||||||
|rowspan="5"|49|rowspan="5" bgcolor="||rowspan="5"||rowspan="5"|Earl Ray Tomblin<small></small>|rowspan="5"|January 3, 1995|rowspan="5"|November 13, 2011|rowspan="5"|Democratic|style="border-style: none solid solid solid;"||||
|bgcolor=""||Cecil Underwood||||||||||||||||
|bgcolor=""||Bob Wise||||||||||||||||
|bgcolor=""||Joe Manchin||||||||||||||||
|rowspan="4" bgcolor=""||style="border-style: solid solid none solid;"||||||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|50|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Jeff Kessler<small></small>|_November 15, 2010_|_November 14, 2011_|rowspan="2"|Democratic|rowspan="3" style="border-style: none solid solid solid;padding-bottom: 2.5em;"|Earl Ray Tomblin|||||
|November 14, 2011|January 14, 2015|||||||||||||||||
|51|bgcolor=""|||Bill Cole<small></small>|January 14, 2015|January 11, 2017|Republican|||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|52|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||rowspan="2"||rowspan="2"|Mitch Carmichael<small></small>|rowspan="2"|January 11, 2017|rowspan="2"|January 13, 2021|rowspan="2"|Republican|bgcolor=""||rowspan="3"|Jim Justice|
|rowspan="2" bgcolor=""||||||||||||||||||
|53|bgcolor=""|||Craig Blair<small></small>|January 13, 2021|January 8, 2025|Republican|||||||||||
|54|bgcolor=""|||Randy Smith<small></small>|January 8, 2025|Incumbent|Republican|bgcolor=""||Patrick Morrisey||||||||