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Glenn Elliott (politician)

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Glenn Elliott
Mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia
In office
2016–2024
Preceded byAndy McKenzie
Succeeded byDanny Magruder
Personal details
BornWheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BEc)
Georgetown University Law Center (JD)

Glenn Elliott is an American politician who served as mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia from 2016 to 2024 and as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate to Robert Byrd from 1994 to 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

He was the Democratic nominee for the 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia, running against West Virginia's Republican governor Jim Justice. Senator Joe Manchin declined to seek re-election, endorsing Elliott, but in what was widely seen as a foregone conclusion, Elliott was defeated in the election, due to the state's extreme Republican lean. Nevertheless, this marked the first time since 1958 that both of West Virginia's Senate seats were represented by Republicans. Joe Manchin, who switched to becoming an Independent in 2024, was the last Democrat to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate.[1]

Education and career

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Elliott graduated from the Linsly School in 1990, and then attended the University of Pennsylvania for a four-year degree in finance, earning a degree from the Wharton School in 1994, with a minor in political science.[2][3]

Elliott kickstarted his political career as a legislative assistant to Senator Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, from 1994 to 1999. Following his experience serving with Byrd, he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center with a Juris Doctor degree in 2001. He practiced law at Baker Botts LLP in Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2008, and later came back to Wheeling, where he worked as an attorney and was involved in renovation projects.[4]

Mayor of Wheeling

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In 2016, Elliott ran for mayor, a nonpartisan office. Elliott, a political newcomer, was elected over vice mayor Eugene Fahey and three other candidates.[5] His election over Fahey marked a political newcomer as the new mayor of Wheeling, who would successfully get re-elected in 2020, narrowly defeating challenger Chris Hamm.[6] Elliott was considering retiring from politics, but after Senator Joe Manchin announced he would not seek re-election, he chose to run for U.S. Senate.[7]

U.S. Senate campaign

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After serving as mayor of Wheeling for eight years, Elliott ran for U.S. Senate in 2024. He filed his candidacy for the Democratic primary on January 16, 2024, seeking the Senate seat once held by Byrd and now held by former governor Joe Manchin in the 2024 West Virginia United States Senate election. He was the first Democrat to file candidacy.[4] He became Joe Manchin's endorsement to replace him in the Senate.[8]

Challenging him in the Democratic primary were Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury and ex-coal executive Don Blankenship, who previously ran in the Republican primaries for the 2018 Senate election and as a third party candidate in the 2020 presidential election. West Virginia Democratic Party chair Mike Pushkin eyed Blankenship's bid with skepticism, saying "If he's a Democrat, then I'm Batman."[9] Elliott won the most votes in the primary and became the Democratic nominee to run against Republican governor Jim Justice, who easily won the nomination of the Republican Party.[10] He was later endorsed by Senator John Fetterman of neighboring Pennsylvania.[11]

While almost certain to lose to Governor Jim Justice due to the state's extremely strong Republican lean, Elliott traveled around the state to engage people, describing his campaign as talking to people about "the real issues" instead of culture war.[12] He campaigned on abortion rights, expanding Medicare, supporting unions, safeguarding Social Security, and pledging investments into rural communities, education, healthcare, and manufacturing jobs.[13] The state was widely viewed as the easiest GOP pickup of the 2024 Senate elections, due to West Virginia's increasing turn towards the Republican Party and no Democrat performing nearly as well as Joe Manchin did in 2018, as a considerably more moderate to conservative Democrat. Manchin himself was considered unlikely to win if he were to run again in 2024.[14]

Two months before the election, Elliott opened a campaign headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia's capital and largest city. He described this as an attempt to campaign more in the southern half of the state, particularly in Charleston and Huntington.[7] He visited Marshall University the following month.[15]

The evening of Election Day, Jim Justice was declared winner almost immediately after the polls closed, winning more than two-thirds of the vote. Elliott won 27% of the vote, faring slightly worse than Kamala Harris did in the presidential election in West Virginia, who won 28% of the vote, despite Harris underperforming compared to Democratic Senate candidates in most states. He congratulated Jim Justice on social media the morning after the election.[16]

Personal life

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He acquired a downtrodden building called the Professional Building in 2013, which since then has housed two law firms after revitalization that Elliott took part of. Elliott resides in the Professional Building with his wife, Cassandra, their son Harrison, a dog and two cats.[2]

He is a licensed drone pilot.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Winger, Richard (2024-05-31). "Senator Joe Manchin Changes His Registration from Democratic to Independent". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  2. ^ a b c "About". Elliott for WV. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  3. ^ "Wheeling mayor running for U.S. Senate seat". theintermountain.com. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  4. ^ a b "Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, a Democrat, Files for U.S. Senate Run". theintelligencer.net. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  5. ^ "Mayor-Elect Glenn Elliott Leads Fresh Faces For Wheeling". theintelligencer.net. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  6. ^ Flatley, Jake (2020-06-10). "Glenn Elliott gets second term as mayor of Wheeling". WV MetroNews. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  7. ^ a b Skeldon, Katherine (2024-09-19). "Senate candidate Glenn Elliott opens new Charleston campaign headquarters ahead of November election". WV MetroNews. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  8. ^ "In race for his Senate seat, Joe Manchin endorses West Virginia Democratic Mayor Glenn Elliott". AP News. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  9. ^ "Disgraced coal CEO lost races as GOP and third party candidate. He's trying again as a Democrat". AP News. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  10. ^ Coyne, Caity (2024-05-15). "Elliott takes Democratic nomination for Senate, will face off against Justice in November • West Virginia Watch". West Virginia Watch. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  11. ^ "Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman Endorses Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott for the U.S. Senate". WTRF. 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  12. ^ Coyne, Caity (2024-05-15). "Elliott takes Democratic nomination for Senate, will face off against Justice in November • West Virginia Watch". West Virginia Watch. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  13. ^ "Issues". Elliott for WV. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  14. ^ Kondik, Kyle (January 24, 2023). "Initial Senate Ratings: Democrats Have a Lot of Defending to Do – Sabato's Crystal Ball". Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Campbell, Luke (2024-10-09). "Democratic Senate candidate comes to Marshall - The Parthenon". Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  16. ^ https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/west-virginia/
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