One month ago, West Virginia Senator Hannah Geffert (D-Berkeley) said she would not seek re-election in November.
(Photo: Will Price)
Then today, Geffert said she has changed her mind. She now says she will be on the ballot in November to oppose the winner of the Republican primary — either current Delegate Jason Barrett or Renee Wibly.
Geffert appeared on Eastern Panhandle Talk with Rob Mario on February 2 and laid out the reasons she initially decided she wasn’t running.
“I really have another year to spend down here as the Senator from the 16th,” Geffert said. “And then there are other things I want to do with my life and it would be another four year commitment. I’m getting older and I want to make sure I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren and Gary and I have some traveling we’d like to do. It seemed like a wise decision.”
But then today, exactly one month later, Geffert appeared again on the show to say she had changed her mind and will be on the ballot in November.
“I don’t like to see people run uncontested,” Geffert said this morning. “Putin has elections but nobody else is on the ballot. We don’t want that. We want real elections.”
“Also, there’s a real steep learning curve here in Charleston. I’ve learned an enormous amount in the time I’ve been down here. That was like the freebie internship and now it’s time to take the position completely.”
Geffert was asked why so few candidates came forward from the Eastern Panhandle.
“It’s very difficult to serve if you’re from the Eastern Panhandle,” Geffert said. “If you’re working, it’s kind of hard to just say to the boss, hey, I’m not going to be here for 90 days or however many days. And the other thing I’ve learned is this is not a part time job. This is a full time job. And we have to have people who are willing to serve and can do that really year round. I go home and I answer 100 emails every night and I talk to constituents. I was talking to a school teacher yesterday for a good amount of time at the end of the day. You have to have people who have the time and energy and inclination and willingness to do that.”
On her February 2 appearance on Eastern Panhandle Talk, Geffert was asked whether anyone tried to influence her one way or another on her re-election bid.
“Interestingly, a number of Republicans,” she said. “Senator Charles Trump would like to see me run again. Same with the President of the Senate Craig Blair — because they think I’ve been doing a good job down here. They would have liked to see me also because we have very few women in the Senate. There are only four. And there’s only one Democratic woman in the Senate and that’s me. We need more women down here.”
Geffert was appointed to the Senate in September 2021 to replace Senator John Unger who became a Berkeley County magistrate.
Geffert is a retired political science professor who taught at Shepherd University.