West Virginia Democratic Senate nominee?
$47.9K
MAY 19, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleFormer State Senator
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyModerate Democrat
Age70 years old (Nov 16, 1955)
GenderMale
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LocationWest Virginia
BackgroundAttorney
EducationWest Liberty University (BA)
Notable personal detailsJeffrey Vincent Kessler is an American politician and attorney who served as a Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate from 1997 to 2017, representing the 2nd district. He was President of the West Virginia Senate and Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia from 2010 to 2015, and later served as Senate Minority Leader from 2015 to 2017. He has run in multiple statewide races, including for governor (2011 and 2016), and is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia in 2026.
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Positions
Economy & Taxes
Supports increasing state revenue through targeted tax increases and directing those revenues to expanded state spending on education, economic development, and substance-abuse/treatment programs; has proposed specific tax measures (for example, a cigarette tax increase) and advocated using severance/natural-resource revenues to fund long-term investments.
Healthcare
Supports the Affordable Care Act expansion and Medicaid expansion in West Virginia and favors extending/enhancing ACA subsidies and opposing cuts to Medicaid funding. Has advocated to protect coverage and affordability for West Virginians and criticized federal actions that reduce Medicaid or ACA supports.
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Abortion & Reproductive Rights
The candidate has made statements in 2026 supporting codifying Roe v. Wade and protecting access to contraception and said he would cosponsor the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Right to Contraception Act. Earlier public actions and statements while serving in the West Virginia legislature indicate support for restricting abortions (including backing limits such as a 20-week ban and calling for late-term abortion restrictions).
Climate & Energy
Supports investment in transitioning West Virginia’s coal-dependent economy toward new industries and cleaner energy development, including reclamation of mine sites, federal clean-coal research funding, and using severance-tax revenue for a future development fund. Has said coal will not return to its former dominance and has advocated embracing other resources such as natural gas while pursuing economic diversification and workforce retraining.
Public Safety & Guns
Jeff Kessler describes himself as a Second Amendment advocate and has supported eliminating permit and training requirements for concealed carry in West Virginia; he has opposed outside-led gun-sting operations and defended state-level control over firearms enforcement. His legislative record and public comments emphasize protecting gun rights while using state law enforcement rather than external actors for enforcement.
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