Natalie Tennant
| Natalie Tennant | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 29th Secretary of State of West Virginia | |
|
In office January 19, 2009 – January 16, 2017 |
|
| Governor |
Joe Manchin Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Preceded by | Betty Ireland |
| Succeeded by | Mac Warner |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 25, 1967 Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Erik Wells |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Education |
West Virginia University, Morgantown (BS, MA) |
Natalie E. Tennant (born December 25, 1967) is American politician who had served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia. She was elected in 2008 and officially took office on January 19, 2009 and left office on January 16, 2017. She was succeeded by Mac Warner. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virginia's open U.S. Senate seat, she lost to Republican Shelley Moore Capito. In 2016 she was defeated for re-election by Republican Andrew 'Mac' Warner, and left office on January 16, 2017.
Prior to her election as Secretary of State, Tennant was a television reporter and co-owner of a video production company.
Tennant grew up on a farm in Fairview, Marion County, West Virginia and is the daughter of Rose Mary (née Brunetti) and John D. Tennant, Jr. Her mother was of Italian descent. Tennant is a 1986 graduate of North Marion High School in Farmington, West Virginia.
She graduated from West Virginia University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and she obtained a master’s degree in corporate and organizational communication from WVU in 2002. While at WVU, Tennant was selected in 1990 as the first woman to represent the university as the Mountaineers' mascot. The only other woman to serve as the Mountaineer was Rebecca Durst, who was selected in 2009. Tennant was subjected to harassment for being a female Mountaineer. At the selection ceremony where Tennant was named as the new mascot, some of the crowd booed her appointment. Cups were thrown at her, people spit on her, and fans developed chants, suggesting that Tennant needed to "get in the kitchen" and characterizing her as a "mountain deer."
Following completion of her undergraduate degree in 1991, Tennant began her career in television broadcasting and reporting. Tennant remained active in the WVU community, receiving the WVU Alumni Association's Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumni Award in 1997.
...
Wikipedia