Tim Armstead
Tim Armstead
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Tenure
2018 - Present
Term ends
2032
Years in position
6
Prior offices
West Virginia House of Delegates District 40
Compensation
Elections and appointments
Education
Personal
Contact
Tim Armstead is a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He assumed office on September 25, 2018. His current term ends on December 31, 2032.
Armstead ran for re-election for judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He won in the general election on June 9, 2020.
Armstead was appointed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on August 25, 2018 by Governor Jim Justice (R). Armstead succeeded Menis Ketchum, who resigned in July 2018. To read more about judicial selection in West Virginia, click here.
Armstead became the chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on January 1, 2020, and served until December 31, 2020.[1]
Armstead also served as chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.[2]
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[3] Armstead received a confidence score of Strong Republican.[4] Click here to read more about this study.
Armstead is a former Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 40 from 1998 to 2018. He resigned his seat August 21, 2018, to run for the state supreme court. Armstead served as speaker of the House from 2015 to 2018. He previously served as House minority leader from 2007 to 2014.
Education
Tim Armstead was born in Charleston, West Virginia. He lives in Elkview, West Virginia. Armstead earned his B.A. in political science and history from the University of Charleston in 1987 and received his J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law in 1990.[5] Armstead was elected to the West Virginia House of Representatives in 1998. He served as House minority leader from 2006 to 2015. He became speaker of the House in 2015. In 2018, Gov. Justice (R) appointed him to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[5]
Elections
2020
See also: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals elections, 2020
General election
2018
General election
2016
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 10, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 30, 2016.
Incumbent Tim Armstead defeated Melissa Riggs Huffman in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 40 general election.[6][7]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 40, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tim Armstead Incumbent |
60.20% | 4,469 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Riggs Huffman | 39.80% | 2,955 | |
| Total Votes | 7,424 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State |
Melissa Riggs Huffman ran unopposed in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 40 Democratic primary.[8][9]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 40, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Melissa Riggs Huffman (unopposed) |
Incumbent Tim Armstead defeated Ronald Shamblin and Lewis A. Taylor in the West Virginia House of Delegates District 40 Republican primary.[8][9]
| West Virginia House of Delegates District 40, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Tim Armstead Incumbent |
67.99% | 1,644 | |
| Republican | Ronald Shamblin | 24.57% | 594 | |
| Republican | Lewis A. Taylor | 7.44% | 180 | |
| Total Votes | 2,418 |
2014
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014. Incumbent Tim Armstead was unopposed in the Republican primary. Armstead was unopposed in the general election.[10]
2012
Armstead ran for re-election in the 2012 election for West Virginia House of Delegates, District 40. Armstead ran unopposed in the May 8 primary election and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
2010
Armstead was re-elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates District 32. He was one of seven candidates running for the three District 32 Delegate positions on the ballot in the November 2, 2010, general election. His opponents in the general election were Republican incumbents Patrick Lane, Ronald Walters; Democrats Charles Black, Clint Casto, and Scott Lavigne; and Mountain Party Jesse Johnson.[14][15][16]
| West Virginia House of Delegates, District 32 General Election (2010) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent |
| Tim Armstead (R)
|
9,807 | 23.06% |
| Ronald Walters (R)
|
8,251 | 20.94% |
| Patrick Lane (R)
|
8,029 | 20.38% |
| Clint Casto (D) | 4,216 | 10.70% |
| Philip Lavigne (D) | 4,149 | 10.53% |
| Charles Black (D) | 3,648 | 9.26% |
| Jesse Johnson (M) | 2,022 | 5.13% |
| West Virginia State Senate, District 32 Republican Primary (2010) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent |
| Timothy P. Armstead (R)
|
1,812 | 18.12% |
| Ronald Neal Walters (R)
|
1,609 | 16.09% |
| Patrick Glen Lane(R)
|
1,578 | 15.78% |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tim Armstead did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[17]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[18]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Tim
Armstead
West Virginia
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Donated over $2,000 to Republican candidates
- Held political office as a Republican
- Was a registered Republican before 2020
Partisan Profile
Details:
Armstead served as a Republican state representative in West Virginia. He served as a Republican Speaker of the House in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2015 to 2018. He donated $10,806 to Republican campaigns. He was a registered Republican prior to his election to the court. At the time of his appointment, West Virginia was a Republican trifecata.
State legislative tenure
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, Armstead served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Rules, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Armstead served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Rules, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Armstead served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Rules |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
| • Constitutional Revision |
| • Government and Finance |
| • Law Institute |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Armstead served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Constitutional Revision |
| • Education |
| • Joint Education |
| • Government and Finance |
| • Law Institute |
| • Rules |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Armstead served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Roads and Transportation |
| • Rules |
| • Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security |
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of West Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 10.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on firearms issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from February 8 through April 9. The legislature held a special session from May 4 to June 26. The legislature held its second special session from August 1 to September 15.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 13 through March 12.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 14 through March 14.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the West Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 10.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Armstead and his wife, Anna, have one child.
State supreme court judicial selection in West Virginia
- See also: Judicial selection in West Virginia
The five justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals are chosen in nonpartisan statewide elections to serve 12-year terms. They must run for re-election when their terms expire.[19]
Qualifications
To serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, a judge must be:
- a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years;
- at least 30 years old; and
- practiced in law for at least 10 years.[19]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court of appeals is selected by peer vote for a one-year term.[19]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of two to five qualified applicants submitted by a nominating commission.[20] The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may compete to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.[19]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Charleston Gazette-Mail, "Armstead named WV Supreme Court chief justice in 2020," November 4, 2019
- ↑ Parkersburg News and Sentinel, "Wooton to serve as chief justice of West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals for 2025," December 31, 2024
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 [courtswv.gov/supreme-court/current-justices/justice-armstead.html West Virginia Judiciary, "Justice Tim Armstead," accessed August 8, 2021]
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 3, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," accessed January 30, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 10, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate search," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 11, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 National Center for State Courts, "Selection of Judges," accessed August 13, 2021
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: West Virginia; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
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