Joshua Higginbotham

Joshua Kurt Higginbotham (born July 23, 1996)[1] is an American politician and author. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican, representing the 13th district, from 2016 until November 2021.[2]

Joshua Higginbotham
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
from the 13th district
In office
December 1, 2016 – November 5, 2021
Preceded byMichael Ihle
Succeeded byKathie Hess Crouse
Personal details
Born
Joshua Kurt Higginbotham

(1996-07-23) July 23, 1996
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Poca, West Virginia, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Charleston (BA)

Early life and education

Higginbotham is the son of Kurt and Trina Higginbotham. He graduated from Poca High School in 2014 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Charleston in 2017.[3]

Career

Higginbotham was elected to the House of Delegates for the 13th district in 2016. At the time of his taking office, he was 20 years old, the youngest member of the House.[4]

In 2018, Higginbotham was among delegates that visited Taiwan to promote investment in West Virginia.[5] In December 2018, he was named an assistant majority whip by House Speaker Roger Hanshaw.[6]

In 2021, Higginbotham was the lead Republican sponsor of the Fairness Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in West Virginia’s Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.[7] Higginbotham was also the only Republican in the House to vote against a bill that forces transgender students to play on sports teams according to the sex they are assigned at birth, as opposed to their gender identity.[8] Later that year, Higginbotham attended the Spirit of Lincoln Gala honoring former First Lady Melania Trump, hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans.[9] He also visited the America First Policy Institute, led by former Trump administration officials.[10] As of September 2021, Higginbotham has been the lead sponsor of 49 different bills in the Legislature.[11][12]

In September 2021, Higginbotham announced he will run for the West Virginia Senate in the 2022 elections for a seat in the Kanawha Valley.[12] In December 2021, Higginbotham was endorsed by former EPA administrator and Trump cabinet member Andrew Wheeler.[13]

He is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group.[14]

Personal life

Higginbotham is a Presbyterian.[15] In 2014, at the age of 18, Higginbotham released Ecclesiastes, a fictionalized version of the Bible book of the same name, on eLectio Publishing.[16]

In June 2021, Higginbotham made statewide and national news when he publicly came out as gay, becoming the first openly gay Republican lawmaker in West Virginia.[17][8][18][19]

References
  1. "Joshua Higginbotham". wvlegislature.gov. West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. Pierson, Lacie (November 8, 2021). "Higginbotham resigns from House of Delegates". Charleston Gazette-Mail.
  3. "Higginbotham announces re-election bid". Point Pleasant Register. September 5, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  4. Schmitz, Ali (February 20, 2017). "W.Va.'s youngest lawmaker says older voters inspired by millennials' passion, energy". Gazette-Mail. ProQuest 1870020979. Retrieved August 3, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  5. Pace, Fred (August 19, 2018). "Lawmakers promote WV investment during Taiwan trip". Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  6. "Rohrbach named to House leadership positions". Associated Press. December 26, 2018.
  7. Young, Charles (February 9, 2021). "West Virginia LGBTQ advocates condemn Mandt remarks, call for passage of Fairness Act". West Virginia News.
  8. Madani, Doha (June 16, 2021). "West Virginia Republican state legislator comes out as gay". NBC News.
  9. Sosin, Kate (October 10, 2020). "Trump has gutted LGBTQ+ rights. Could a Biden presidency undo the damage?". USA Today.
  10. Higginbotham, Joshua (December 6, 2021). "Tweet". Twitter.
  11. "West Virginia House of Delegates". House of Delegates. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  12. Haycraft, Ashley (September 13, 2021). "Del. Joshua Higginbotham announces run for WV Senate 2022". WBOY-TV.
  13. "MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT". Twitter. December 28, 2021.
  14. "Del. Joshua Higginbotham Biography".
  15. Twitter https://twitter.com/higginbotham4wv/status/1404231138202243074. Retrieved 2021-06-17. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. Smith, Charlotte (July 25, 2014). "18-year-old WV author churns out 'Ecclesiastes'". Gazette-Mail. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  17. "I'm gay. I've wanted to tell you this for many years, but I couldn't be public like I wanted because there were still a few people in my family who didn't know yet—now they do. So now I'm telling you, too". Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  18. Kercheval, Hoppy (June 15, 2021). "Higginbotham Comes Out". West Virginia MetroNews.
  19. Waltemyer, Katelyn (June 17, 2021). "Joshua Higginbotham wants all West Virginians to feel comfortable in their skin". Jackson Newspapers. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
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