By JIM McCONVILLE
The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Former two-term West Virginia Delegate Larry D. Kump, who once proposed that the Eastern Panhandle secede from West Virginia, has decided to run again for state office.
Kump will be running for a seat in the State House of Delegates in 2018 to represent District 59, which includes the northwestern section of Berkeley and Morgan counties.
Kump, 69, said his decision to run again was prompted by friends’ requests and personal reflection.
“After a strong and steady stream of personal pleadings urged me to return to public office, and prolonged pondering and personal prayer, I have made a decision to answer the call to return to duty,” Kump said in a prepared statement.
Kump said he has already filed pre-election papers with the Secretary of State’s office.
Born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Kump lives in Falling Waters. According to his resume, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University in Maryland, studying economics and political science. Kump also graduated from the Maryland Correctional Training Academy.
Kump is a retired public administrator, having spent most of his career in the criminal justice sector, working as a prison case manager, mediator, sex offender treatment therapist, correctional employee trainer, counselor and legislative relations specialist.
According to Kump, his campaign platform will center on tax reform and streamlining government
“When I first was a candidate for election to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2010, it was my sincere promise and firm conviction to always stand up and speak out on behalf of more taxpayer friendly and less intrusive government,” Kump said. “That has not changed, nor will it ever.”
Kump was elected to the House of Delegates for two terms starting in 2011.
In January 2011, then freshman delegate Kump sponsored a bill to let Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson counties vote to rejoin Virginia.
At the time, Kump said the proposal was an effort to get citizens to reflect on West Virginia’s economic challenges, citing the state’s poor showing in economic ranking. He blamed the state’s government as overly centralized and oppressive to prosperity, according to published news articles at the time.
According to an Associated Press article on Jan. 25, 2011, Kump told The Journal of Martinsburg that most of the 300 e-mails he got about the idea to secede were positive. However, residents interviewed by the newspaper generally opposed the idea.
On May 12, 2014, then Hedgesville High School senior Saira Blair unseated incumbent Kump in a primary election. With 13 of 13 precincts reporting in Berkeley and Morgan counties, Blair, 17, received 872 votes and Kump received 728 votes in the 59th District race for the House of Delegates.
In 2016, Kump unsuccessfully ran against state Sen. Craig Blair in the Republican primary for the state’s 15th District Senate seat.
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