Michael Thomas Azinger is an American politician. He is a Republican member of the West Virginia Senate,[1][2] representing the 3rd district since January 11, 2017. Prior to this, Azinger represented the 10th District in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2015 to 2017, succeeding his father, Tom Azinger. Prior to service in the West Virginia legislature, he was a resident of Ohio, where he ran twice for the Sixth Congressional District. In 1998, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination, coming in third behind Lt. Governor Nancy Hollister and former Congressman Frank Cremeans. In 2000, he won the Republican nomination, but failed in his bid to unseat Rep. Ted Strickland, taking only 40% of the vote.[3]
Azinger attended the January 6, 2021, Stop the Steal rally near the U.S. Capitol but did not walk to or enter the building. He claimed he saw no violence and blamed "antifa" for the attack.[4] These claims have been widely disputed;[5] over 800 people have been convicted for their roles in the attack.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Azinger (incumbent) | 20,812 | 65.71% | |
| Democratic | Jim Leach | 10,861 | 34.29% | |
| Total votes | 31,673 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Azinger (incumbent) | 19,964 | 57.40% | |
| Democratic | Jim Leach | 14,818 | 42.60% | |
| Total votes | 34,782 | 100.0% | ||
In 2015, Republican Senator David Nohe resigned just one year into his four-year term due to family commitments.[9] Delegate Bob Ashley was appointed to fill the seat until the next regularly scheduled election.[9] Rather than run for the unexpired term, Ashley chose to challenge Senator Donna Boley for a full term in the Senate.[9] As a result, area businessman Sam Winans and Delegate Azinger ran for the remaining two years on the term.[9] Azinger beat Winans 61-39% to advance to the November general election against Democratic nominee Gregory Smith, former CEO of Mountain State Blue Cross-Blue Shield.[9] Azinger beat Smith 55-45% to win the unexpired term.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Azinger | 23,034 | 54.64% | |
| Democratic | Gregory K. Smith | 19,125 | 45.36% | |
| Total votes | 42,159 | 100.0% | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Mike Azinger | 9,065 | 60.72% | |
| Republican | Sam Winans | 5,865 | 39.28% | |
| Total votes | 14,930 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Azinger | 8,375 | 23.48% | |
| Republican | Frank Deem | 7,479 | 20.96% | |
| Republican | John R. Kelly | 6,932 | 19.43% | |
| Democratic | Dan Poling | 5,927 | 16.61% | |
| Democratic | Don Stansberry | 3,886 | 10.89% | |
| Democratic | Paul E. Miller | 3,077 | 8.62% | |
| Total votes | 35,676 | 100.0% | ||
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