17-year-old beats incumbent W. Va. lawmaker in primary election

Set to graduate high school in one week, 17-year-old Saira Blair celebrated by unseating a West Virginia incumbent lawmaker in Tuesday’s GOP primary elections.

If elected, Blair would be the youngest state lawmaker in West Virginia. While she’ll have to face a 44-year-old Democratic opponent, Layne Diehl, the district is fairly conservative.

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Blair will attend West Virginia University in the fall to pursue a degree in economics and Spanish. However, if she does solidify her seat in the House of Delegates, she said she would take the spring semester off in order to convene with fellow lawmakers while in session from January to March.

“I’m really thankful that people are willing to give me a chance regardless of my age,” Blair told The Herald-Mail.

With all 13 precincts reporting in Berkeley and Morgan counties on Tuesday, Blair received 872 votes to Del. Larry Kump’s 728. Kump was seeking his third two-year term. According to Fox News, Blair spent $4,900 with a $2,300 loan compared to Kump’s $1,840 in spending.

“She worked really hard," Kump told Campus Reform in an interview. "Her dad worked really hard."

The 17-year-old campaigned on economic issues such as creating and promoting jobs in her district and eliminating the state’s business franchise tax while reducing the corporate net tax and dropping the business property tax.

Her father, Craig Blair, once held the seat that she's running for. Kump said he thinks this is part of the reason she won. 

"It was a family operation,” he said.

While Kump says he doesn’t make endorsements of other candidates, he is excited to see what November will bring.

“With the exception of a few issues, Saira and I have similar principles,” Kump said. "I hope that [November] will be a battle not on age but principle."

Blair will turn 18 in July, making her eligible to run in November.

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