Chris Claypole, 46, is the grandson of former State Sen. Eugene Claypole, D-Monongalia. Now the younger Claypole is entering politics and is a candidate for the West Virginia Senate 2nd District seat. (Photo submitted)

MANNINGTON – Democrat Chris Claypole remembers well growing up around West Virginia state politics and even being a page at the State Capitol in Charleston as a youth.

Claypole, 46, is the grandson of former State Sen. Eugene Claypole, D-Monongalia. Now the younger Claypole is entering politics and is a candidate for the West Virginia Senate 2nd District seat.

He got his first taste of Charleston when he was in sixth grade and had the opportunity to be a Senate page.

“Everything seemed larger than life,” he said. “The architecture there has always been something I admired, and I also enjoyed meeting all the people.

“It was obviously very sad to see those names pop up after they passed. I remember so many folks.”

Sen. Eugene Claypole passed away in March 2025 and the younger Claypole opted to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and start his own campaign for Senate last summer.

“It’s been quite the trip so far,” he said. “I’ve come across so many people who remembered my granddad.”

Claypole works for WVU Medicine at the in-patient psychiatric hospital in Morgantown. He does video-monitoring of patients.

He is originally from Maidsville in Monongalia County, but presently lives in Mannington in Marion County.

Claypole is basing his campaign on three components – improving education, infrastructure and access to healthcare in West Virginia.

“That is why I am running,” he said. “These are truly the basics when it comes to serving in political office. I want to improve our water systems, our electrical grid, our roads and even things like our communications.

“High speed internet is still not available to all West Virginians across the board. We have people running on dial up, and that’s hard for remote learning. It’s hard to do remote work. It limits the options for a lot of people.”

He noted that Paden City “has major water issues.”

“This is the 21st century, and we still do not have clean drinking water for all of our people,” Claypole said.

Access to health care is an issue for many people living in the more rural areas of West Virginia, he continued.

“Folks are traveling to Morgantown for specialized health care and that is insane,” he said. “We should have better regional care and that includes financial access.”

In addition, the education system in West Virginia is vital to our state’s future,” according to Claypole.

“We are not going to get high quality employers if we are not going to offer an education system that makes people want to be here,” Claypole said. “We can’t get Fortune 100 companies to come here if there is not the infrastructure or healthcare for employees.

“We as a state already have scenery and adventure to attract people. We just need to be able to take care of them. We as a state deserve better,” he added.