Natalie E. Tennant (born December 25, 1967)[1] is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2009 to 2017.

Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virginia's open U.S. Senate seat, which she lost to Republican Shelley Moore Capito.

Prior to her election as secretary of state, Tennant was a television reporter and co-owner of a video production company.

[7] Cups were thrown at her, people spit on her, and fans developed chants, suggesting that Tennant needed to "get in the kitchen" and characterizing her as a "mountain deer.

[5] In 2004, Tennant ran unsuccessfully for West Virginia Secretary of State, losing the Democratic primary to Ken Hechler by 1,108 votes.

[25] On January 20, 2011, Tennant announced she was running for the Democratic nomination for Governor of West Virginia in the 2011 special gubernatorial election.

[27] Public polling conducted in January 2011 showed Tennant to be a front runner in the Democratic primary, alongside acting governor Earl Ray Tomblin.

[28] She lost the primary election to acting governor Earl Ray Tomblin, coming in third place behind state house speaker Rick Thompson.

Tennant lost to Republican representative Shelley Moore Capito in the general election, losing every county in the state.

[32] In announcing her campaign, Tennant stated, "I will fight any Republican or any Democrat — including President Barack Obama — who tries to kill our energy jobs, whether they are coal, natural gas, wind or water.

[1] In 2017, Tennant joined the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law in a voting rights advocacy position.