William David Hamilton (born July 14, 1950 in
Buckhannon, West Virginia) is an American politician. He is a member of the
West Virginia Senate from the
11th district. He was a member of the
West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 45[2] from January 12, 2013 to December 1, 2018. Hamilton served consecutively from January 2003 until January 2013 in the District 39 seat.
In 2000, Hamilton ran in the Republican primary for the 39th district of the
West Virginia House of Delegates. He was defeated by the incumbent
Dale F. Riggs.[5] In 2002, Hamilton ran against Riggs again. He was endorsed by the state chapters of the
United Mine Workers and the
AFL-CIO,[6][7] and won with 55% of the vote.[8] Hamilton was unopposed in the general election.[9]
In 2018, Hamilton challenged
Robert L. Karnes for his seat in the
West Virginia Senate. Karnes opposed unions, supported
Right-to-work laws, and stated that
teachers' strike earlier in the year "[held] kids hostage".[10][11] Hamilton defeated Karnes in the primary, with much of his campaign contributions coming from organized labor.[11]
Elections
West Virginia Senate District 11 (Position A) election, 2018[12]
2012 Redistricted to District 45, and with District 45 incumbent
Larry Williams redistricted to District 52, Hamilton was unopposed for both the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 2,490 votes,[13] and the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 5,669 votes.[14]
2000 Hamilton challenged District 39 incumbent Representative
Dale Riggs in the 2000 Republican Primary but lost to Representative Riggs, who was re-elected in the November 7, 2000 General election.
2002 Hamilton challenged Representative Riggs again in the 2002 Republican Primary and won, and was unopposed for the November 5, 2002 General election.
2004 Hamilton was unopposed for the 2004 Republican Primary and won the November 2, 2004 General election against
Democratic nominee Teresa Khan.
2006 Hamilton was unopposed for the 2006 Republican Primary and won the November 7, 2006 General election against Democratic nominee Ryan Thorn.
2008 Hamilton was challenged in the May 13, 2008 Republican Primary but won with 2,233 votes (80.9%),[15] and was unopposed for the November 4, 2008 General election, winning with 6,285 votes.[16]
2010 Hamilton was challenged in the three-way May 11, 2010 Republican Primary but won with 1,386 votes (62.9%),[17] and was unopposed for the November 2, 2010 General election, winning with 4,765 votes.[18]