Mac Warner
30th Secretary of State of West Virginia
Assumed office
January 16, 2017
GovernorJim Justice
Preceded byNatalie Tennant
Personal details
Born
Andrew McCoy Warner[1]

(1955-02-18) February 18, 1955 (age 68)
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDebbie Warner[2]
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
West Virginia University (JD)
University of Virginia (LLM)

Andrew McCoy "Mac" Warner (born February 18, 1955) is an American attorney, veteran, and the current West Virginia secretary of state. He announced his candidacy for Governor of West Virginia in 2024 on January 10, 2023.

Early life and education

Warner graduated from United States Military Academy at West Point and later with a J.D. from West Virginia University School of Law and LL.M. from JAG School and University of Virginia School of Law in International Law.

Career

Warner served in the United States Army in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He retired from military service and became a United States Department of State contractor.

Warner was elected West Virginia secretary of state in 2016 and reorganized the office upon taking control of it, resulting in the firing of 16 staffers. All employees of the secretary of state are hired at the "will and pleasure" of the elected officeholder and have no civil service status. The Warner layoffs included staff members who had served multiple administrations—Republican and Democratic.[3] In January 2018, the secretary of state's office announced that it had processed 45,000 new voter registrations in 2017, including 13,995 high school students, while over 86,000 registrations were cancelled due to deaths, out-of-date information, duplication, or felony status.[4] Warner and Attorney General of West Virginia Patrick Morrisey sided with the Ohio secretary of state in a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case regarding a state's right to purge voter registration rolls. The court ruled 5-4 in Ohio's favor.[5]

After Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and made false claims of fraud, Warner defended Trump's claims and participated in "Stop the Steal" protests.[6]

Warner opposes the For the People Act, which would expand voting rights.[6] He opposes automatic voter registration, mail-in voting, and same-day voter registration.[6]

Personal life

He lives in Morgantown, West Virginia. He is brothers with Kasey Warner, former United States attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia and fellow former J.A.G. Corps officer. His other brothers are Kris Warner, former chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, and Monty Warner, the 2004 Republican nominee for Governor of West Virginia.[7] He is the father of four children, who are all current or former Army officers. He is married to Debbie Warner, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for district 82.[8]

References

  1. ^ In The Matter Of: McCoy, et al. v. West Virginia Secretary of State
  2. ^ joenelson (2022-05-11). "Debbie Warner wins GOP nomination for 82nd District W.Va. House of Delegates seat". 104.5 FM & 1440 AM | The Voice of Morgantown | Morgantown, WV. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. ^ "16 WV Secretary of State staffers to be fired when Warner takes office". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  4. ^ "Warner works to clean up voter rolls in WV". Huntington Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  5. ^ "US Top Court backs Ohio voter purge". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  6. ^ a b c Kabler, Phil (2021). "W.Va. Senate passes bill to rein in voting options". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  7. ^ "macwarner2020.com". Archived from the original on 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  8. ^ joenelson (2022-05-11). "Debbie Warner wins GOP nomination for 82nd District W.Va. House of Delegates seat". 104.5 FM & 1440 AM | The Voice of Morgantown | Morgantown, WV. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
Political offices Preceded byNatalie Tennant Secretary of State of West Virginia 2017–present Incumbent
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