Cody Cumpston

WHEELING – Marshall County resident Cody Cumpston has lived in the county all his life – except for the four years when he was in the military.

When he returned home, he noticed the area seemed to have changed for the worse, he noted. That was about 17 years ago.

Now he is a Democratic candidate for the District 6 House of Delegates seat who will appear on the general election ballot.

Cumpston, now 39, recently offered his assistance to the Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee for the 2024 election.

The committee was faced with appointing a candidate to the ballot for the District 6 seat after no Democrat filed in the race. They asked Cumpston if he were interested.

“It absolutely surprised me,” he said. “I just wanted to do door knocking and help out.

“They told me they had called everybody, and nobody wanted to do it. It was my chance to step up and do it.”

Cumpston, a native of Cameron, now lives in Moundsville with his wife Erica and their two daughters – Adaline, 17, and Zoe, 15.

He works as a union electrician.

“I’ve lived in West Virginia all my life, and I’ve watched it change over the years,” Cumpston continued. “I’m not a fan of the change…. I just feel like we’re going backward instead of forward.”

He and Erica have been married for 18 years, and they met while Cumpston was in the military. Cumpston brought her back to where his family lived in Cameron after being discharged.

“My wife is from Maryland. She never experienced driving 45 minutes to the closest hospital or grocery store. It was a culture shock for her,” Cumpston said.

They later moved to Moundsville. When he is not working, Cumpston enjoys spending time with the family.

“I started following politics four to five years ago,” he said. “I started reading political books, and I try to read five to six news articles each day to keep up on what is going on.”

He describes himself as “pro-labor, pro-union, and pro-women’s rights.”

“The biggest issue for me is education,and the teacher shortage,” he said. “There’s a shortage of state workers across the board across the state – teachers, state troopers and foster care workers.”

Cumpston wants voters to come tell him what they think is best for West Virginia, and what needs changed.

“I am easily approachable,” he said. “My goal with this election is I want to take a collective idea down there and represent everybody, so come tell me what you think.”