Raleigh County Attorney Carl “Bill” Roop, who was already running for a seat in the House of Representatives, was appointed Tuesday by Governor Jim Justice to fill the seat vacated earlier this month by Todd Kirby.
Kirby, a Republican, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 and resigned In early July, the judiciary appointed him as a district judge in Raleigh County. Roop will serve the remainder of Kirby’s term, which ends in January.
Roop is already campaigning for Kirby’s former seat. After an unopposed Republican primary in May, he will face Democratic candidate Tony Martin in the November general election. According to election results, Martin already lost the race for the same seat to Kirby in 2022. No campaign page or website with detailed policy positions for Roop could be found.
According to local media reports, Roop worked as an attorney for Raleigh County while also running his own private practice. His father was a member of the West Virginia legislature when Roop was growing up.
Roop to WVVA In 2023, when he launched his campaign, he said his priorities if he entered the legislature would be to promote tiny businesses in the state, improve the education system and address the ongoing drug and overdose epidemic in the state.
