MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Longtime state lawmaker Barbara Evans Fleischauer is ready to move to the other side of the state capitol. Fleischauer announcing on WAJR’s Talk of the Town she will not seek re-election to the House of Delegates and instead run for the open state senate seat in the 13th District.
“I think I have enough experience to handle it and I think my experience is an asset. I have issues I want to work on and I think I’ll have a little bit more of a voice because you’re one of 34 people over there,” Del. Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, said.
Listen to “Talk of the Town | November 4, 2021” on Spreaker.
That seat has been held Sen. Bob Beach, D-Monongalia, since 2010. Beach announced in October that he would not run for re-election next year, leaving the seat up for grabs.
Fleischauer was first elected to the House in 1994 and served through 2003. She was again elected to the House in 2006 and has been a fixture at the state capitol ever since. Fleischauer has chaired the Committee on Constitutional Revision, was Co-Chair on Equal Pay Commission as well as Vice Chair for the Health and Human Resources Committee.
“It would be nice to have the luxury of spending more time working on issues and not have to constantly be thinking about running for office,” Fleischauer said.
With Fleischauer running for the Senate that leaves at least two seats open in the House of Delegates in Monongalia County. Democrat incumbents Evan Hansen, John Williams and Danielle Walker along with Republican Joe Statler all reside in separate districts. Two new delegates will be elected in the newly drawn 78th and 82nd districts.
Fleischauer becomes the third delegate in recent days to announce a Senate run. Del. Mick Bates, R-Raleigh, and Del. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, have both said they will seek a Senate seat in 2022. Both were Democrats until changing their registrations in the past year.