Bob Ashley
American politician
Robert Gene Ashley (July 4, 1953 – May 14, 2024) was an American politician from West Virginia. As a member of the Republican Party, Ashley served in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 28th district from January 1985 to January 1999 and the 11th district from 2001 to 2015, as well as in the West Virginia Senate for the 3rd district between 2015 and 2017.
Personal life
Ashley earned his BBA from Marshall University.
Ashley married Anita Harold in 1981. She would later be elected to the state's fifth judicial circuit court, covering the counties of Calhoun, Jackson, Mason, and his native Roane.
Ashley died in Charleston on May 14, 2024, at the age of 70.
Elections
2012 Ashley was unopposed for the May 8, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 1,475 votes; returning 2010 opponent Mark Myers ran as the Mountain Party candidate, setting up a rematch. Ashley won the November 6, 2012 General election with 4,699 votes (81.1%) against Myers.
1980s and 1990s Ashley was initially elected in the 1984 Republican Primary and November 6, 1984 General election, and re-elected in the general elections of November 4, 1986, November 8, 1988, November 6, 1990, November 2, 1992, November 8, 1994, and November 5, 1996.
1998 Ashley was unopposed for the 1998 Republican Primary but lost the November 3, 1998 General election to Democratic nominee Oscar Hines.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bob Ashley” as american politician. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american politician. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16186139. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1953, 2024, 1985 and 1999.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bob Ashley”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bob Ashley primary sources, Bob Ashley archive and Ashley research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bob Ashley”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bob Ashley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.