Paul Hardesty (born February 4, 1963)[1] is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a member of the West Virginia Senate from 2019 to 2020.
Hardesty previously served as president of the Logan County Board of Education from July 2016 to January 2019,[2] and as a legislative aide to Gov.
[1] After Richard Ojeda resigned from the West Virginia Senate in 2019 in order to focus on his 2020 presidential campaign, the Democratic committee in the 7th district nominated three candidates to replace him: Hardesty, former state delegate Harry Keith White, and former state senator Art Kirkendoll (whom Ojeda defeated in the 2016 primary).
[2] The appointment caused some controversy, as Hardesty had been a registered coal lobbyist whose clients included several companies affiliated with Justice.
[3] In February 2019, Hardesty voted in favor of a bill to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 and to make it a crime to smoke in a vehicle with a child as a passenger.