Justice appoints Ryan Browning to Wayne County House seat

The renovated House Chambers in the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., in Dec. 2023. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday appointed Ryan Browning, of Wayne County, to fill the House of Delegates seat vacated by Del. Mark Ross, R-Wayne, earlier this year.

Ross, a retired school teacher, resigned from office on May 21, according to a resignation letter sent to the  governor’s office that day. The letter did not include a reason for his departure. He was elected to the House in 2022 and was the lead sponsor of 45 bills — 36 in 2023 and nine in 2024 — during his two sessions in office.

Browning, 42, serves as president of Golden Bear Transport, according to records with the Secretary of State’s office. He will serve the remainder of Ross’ term, which is set to expire next year. He is also already the presumptive winner for that seat in the general election as no Democrat is running in the race and he secured the primary election over two other Republican candidates with about 43% of votes cast in his favor.

Browning, of Kenova, describes himself as a “pro-life, pro-family, pro-[Second Amendment]” conservative, according to his campaign website . In a candidate survey submitted to the Charleston Gazette-Mail before May’s primary, he said his policy priorities include support for career and technical educational programs, investing in tourism and generating more jobs for the local economy.

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