Meet Natalie
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Natalie Tennant grew up on a farm near Fairview in Marion County, the youngest of seven children.
Both her parents are educators. She learned the value of a good education and the importance of putting in a hard day’s work baling hay alongside her brothers and sister.
After graduating from North Marion High School and leading the Huskies as their Student Body President, Tennant went to West Virginia University, where she studied broadcasting, and broke barriers becoming the first woman to officially serve as the WVU Mountaineer. In 1991, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, and in 2002 she obtained a master’s degree in corporate and organizational communication also from WVU. For the next decade Tennant anchored the news in Clarksburg and Charleston, bringing attention to stories that affected the people of West Virginia.
In 2008, Tennant successfully ran for Secretary of State. After a competitive primary, she decisively won the general election and was sworn in as the 29th West Virginia Secretary of State.
During her tenure as Secretary of State, Tennant has dedicated herself to making government accountable and never wasting taxpayer dollars. She cut outdated programs, eliminated excessive spending in her office, and made government more accessible to West Virginians.
As a small business owner herself, Tennant knows the importance of ensuring that business in West Virginia thrives. The largest division Tennant oversees as Secretary of State is business and licensing – and she has made efficiency, access, and cutting red tape for small businesses hallmarks of her tenure as Secretary. The work she does there is vital to the economy of West Virginia and literally keeps businesses running. In 2010, as the result of Tennant’s commitment to making the Secretary of State’s Office more business friendly, the number of online filings nearly doubled to more than 16,000.
Tennant has also successfully fought for initiatives to make the voting process more streamlined, secure, and accessible. In just two years as Secretary of State, Tennant helped West Virginia become a worldwide leader in safe and secure online voting for overseas and deployed military, ensuring that our men and women in uniform can cast their ballot when performing their duty for their country.
Tennant and her husband live in Charleston with their daughter, Delaney.
Get Involved