Eric Tarr
Eric J. Tarr is the Republican incumbent representing West Virginia Senate District 4 and is running for another term in 2026. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2018 and is from Scott Depot. Tarr has a background in business and finance and has served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. During his time in the legislature, he has worked on issues including the state budget, taxes, higher education and economic development. Tarr has also pushed for changes to how West Virginia’s public universities are funded, including using performance and workforce outcomes. His campaign has focused on economic growth, technical education, higher education and tax policy.
Campaign site
“My family and I put our only asset, the home we scraped for, on the line to start our first business in Teays Valley in 1997. I was 24 years old. I slept at the business 6 nights per week for the first year we were open. Sleeping where I could was familiar to me growing up. Within 6 months of opening, I realized that West Virginia law set small family businesses up to fail. So I got to work influencing state policy makers to fix it. I also attended school on weekends and evenings to complete my Doctorate, and obtain my MBA along the way.”
(Eric Tarr Campaign Website) “As your State Senator, I bring decades of relationships that matter and results that are real. Now, and most of all, I want West Virginia to be the place where you can get the job you want, keep the money you struggle to earn, and do it all with as little government intrusion as possible. West Virginia is a traditional family state, let's stay on the path of giving our kids the opportunity to build their family here too. Please re-elect me as your State Senator.”
(Eric Tarr Campaign Website)Stephanie Butcher
Stephanie Butcher (Libertarian Party) is a 2026 candidate for the West Virginia State Senate representing District 4 (Cabell, Jackson, Mason, Putnam Counties) on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
“Two wrongs don't make a right. In other words, it's undisputed that you, based on where you live and based on what the law provides says. But two cannot is, cannot be I mean, two officeholders from the same county, right?”
(WOWK Charleston) “As a citizen of Senate District 4, I take the responsibilities of this senate seat very seriously, and I take the election of the individuals who would represent me as a citizen very seriously. Anyone who would decide to run for the seat should at least give the position enough respect to understand the constitutional law that governs who can sit in it. That is their responsibility,”
(WOWK Charleston) “[Tarr] could have picked up the phone and called me and pointed me in that direction. In August, or whenever he first discovered it,”
(WOWK Charleston)