Gov. Jim Justice on Friday appointed Del. Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire, to the state Senate, filling the seat vacated earlier this month by Sen. Charlie Trump, R-Morgan, according to the news release.

The Senate seat covers all of Hampshire and Morgan Counties and parts of Berkeley and Mineral Counties, according to the release.

“I’m honored that Governor Justice has chosen me to be the next Senator from the 15th District,” Thorne said in a separate news release from the state Senate. “I have greatly enjoyed my time in the House of Delegates, and I look forward to serving both my current constituents in Hampshire County and my new constituents in Morgan and Berkeley counties in this new role. I look forward to this opportunity and working with Senate leadership to help move West Virginia forward.”

Trump — whose seat in the Senate was not up for election this year — resigned in early December after winning his race for the state Supreme Court of Appeals.

Thorne won his reelection to the House in November. With his switch to the Senate, a Republican will now need to be appointed for his seat in the House.

A farmer by trade, Thorne was first elected to the House in 2022. Over the last two sessions, he has signed on as the lead sponsor of seven bills. One of those — House Bill 5349, the Truth in Food Labeling Act — was signed into law. 

In 2023 and 2024 sessions, Thorne introduced two bills twice: one to ban drag performances in front of minors and another that would have dictated how schools in the state teach concepts related to race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin. In both years, both of those bills died in committees.

Trump was elected to the state Senate in 2014. He successfully ran for the office after serving in the House of Delegates from 1992 to 2006, serving as minority whip for the then-Democrat controlled body from 1999 on. He will take the Supreme Court seat currently held by Chief Justice John A. Hutchison, who announced last year that he would be retiring from the judicial body. 

Bill Woodrum, senior program officer at the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, delivered keynote remarks and Judy Moore, executive director of the WV Hive and deputy director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, presented awards to 12 entrepreneurs and partners during the annual West Virginia Hive Open House and Awards Ceremony on Dec. 13.

Manuel Furmento, a civil engineering student from Uruguay, was awarded for his invention of the SkyMounts television stand and securing a provisional patent for his idea. 

He assembled a team, including his brother, and went to work laying the foundation for a working prototype and a company to sell the product.

“Entrepreneurship and small business development are the lifeblood of our communities,” Woodrum said. “The WV Hive plays a critical role in fostering innovation, providing support and empowering individuals to pursue their dreams. The entrepreneurs and partners recognized today exemplify the resilience and ingenuity that drive economic progress in West Virginia.”

Read more about the awardees.