West Virginia's 3rd Senate district

West Virginia's 3rd Senate district is one of 17 districts in the West Virginia Senate. It is currently represented by Republicans Donna Boley and Mike Azinger.^[1][2] All districts in the West Virginia Senate elect two members to staggered four-year terms.

West Virginia's 3rd State Senate district
Senator	Mike Azinger R–Vienna Donna Boley R–St. Marys
Demographics	94% White 2% Black 1% Hispanic 1% Asian 2% Native American
Population (2021)	105,587

Geography

District 3 covers much of the Mid-Ohio Valley region, including all of Pleasants, Wirt, and Wood Counties and parts of Roane County. It is based in the city of Parkersburg, also covering the nearby communities of Vienna, Williamstown, Blennerhassett, Mineralwells, Elizabeth, and St. Marys.^[3]

The district is located largely within West Virginia's 1st congressional district, with a small portion extending into West Virginia's 2nd congressional district, and overlaps with the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th districts of the West Virginia House of Delegates.^[4] It borders the state of Ohio.

Recent election results

2024

2024 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[5]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	12,325	100.0
Total votes			12,477	100.0
General election
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	37,987	100.0
Total votes			37,987	100.0
	Republican hold

2022

2022 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[6]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Azinger (incumbent)	6,600	51.5
	Republican	John Kelly	6,210	48.5
Total votes			12,810	100
General election
	Republican	Mike Azinger (incumbent)	20,812	65.7
	Democratic	Jody Murphy	10,861	34.3
Total votes			31,673	100.0

Historical election results

2020

2020 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	29,889	66.3
	Democratic	Robert Wilson Jr.	11,812	26.2
	Libertarian	Travis Shultz	3,403	7.5
Total votes			45,104	100
	Republican hold

2018

2018 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[6]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Leach	3,695	55.1
	Democratic	Simon Hargus	3,009	44.9
Total votes			6,704	100
General election
	Republican	Mike Azinger (incumbent)	19,964	57.4
	Democratic	Jim Leach	14,818	42.6
Total votes			34,782	100
	Republican hold

2016

In 2016, both seats were up for election due to an unusual series of events. Republican Bob Ashley, who had been appointed to the Senate following the departure of David Nohe in 2015, chose to run in a primary against his fellow senator Donna Boley, leaving his own seat open and triggering a special election.^[7]

2016 regular

2016 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[6]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	11,508	63.0
	Republican	Bob Ashley (incumbent)	3,398	18.6
	Republican	John Riggs	3,368	18.4
Total votes			18,274	100
General election
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	27,172	64.7
	Democratic	Bradley Vanzile	14,826	35.3
Total votes			41,998	100
	Republican hold

2016 special

2016 West Virginia Senate special election, District 3^[6]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Azinger	9,065	60.7
	Republican	Sam Winans	5,865	39.3
Total votes			14,930	100
General election
	Republican	Mike Azinger	23,034	54.6
	Democratic	Gregory K. Smith	19,125	45.4
Total votes			42,159	100
	Republican hold

2014

2014 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Nohe (incumbent)	19,321	76.3
	Democratic	Robin Wilson, Jr.	6,014	23.7
Total votes			25,335	100
	Republican hold

2012

2012 West Virginia Senate election, District 3^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Boley (incumbent)	33,458	100
Total votes			33,458	100
	Republican hold

Federal and statewide results

Year	Office	Results
2020	President	Trump 72.6 – 25.8%
	Senate	Capito 74.5 – 22.8%
	Governor	Justice 71.4 – 24.7%
2018	Senate	Morrisey 49.0 – 47.0%
2016	President	Trump 73.1 – 21.9%
	Governor	Justice 47.2 – 46.0%

Historical district boundaries

Main article: List of West Virginia Senate districts § Historical and present district boundaries

References

1. "Donna J. Boley (R - Pleasants, 03)". West Virginia State Senate. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
2. "Michael T. Azinger (R - Wood, 03)". West Virginia State Senate. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
3. "Senate District Maps - 2010 Plan". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
4. David Jarman. "How do counties, House districts, and legislative districts all overlap?". Daily Kos. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
5. "STATE SENATOR, 3rd Senatorial District". West Virginia SoS. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
6. "West Virginia State Senate District 3". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
7. Jeff Jenkins (February 1, 2016). "Ashley to take on Boley in Republican Senate primary". WV MetroNews. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
8. "Statewide Results General Election - November 6, 2012". West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.