Oral history interview with Natalie E. Tennant, 2022
Abstract
Natalie Tennant discusses her activities during the years of the Obama presidency, throughout which she served as the secretary of state of West Virginia, and during which she was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia in 2014. Tennant recounts the development of her interest in politics and commitment to public service, and speaks widely about politics in West Virginia durin g the Obama years. She considers major events, issues, and initiatives with which she was closely involved as secretary of state, providing details about efforts to digitize state government services; the special elections following the death of U.S. Senator Robert Byrd in 2010; the culture of institutional experimentation she encouraged in her office; her participation in national conferences through the National Association of Secretaries of State; her participation in a 2013 White House meeting on the future of coal; the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in 2010; and the course of the opioid epidemic in West Virginia. Tennant also recounts her statewide political campaigns- including for secretary of state, governor of West Virginia, and the U.S. Senate- and describes the evolution of partisan politics in West Virginia and her careful relation to national Democrats including President Obama, who was unpopular in the state by 2014. Also discussed are the politics surrounding voter I.D. regulations; felony voter fraud cases involving Democrats in Lincoln County, West Virginia; and Tennant's memories of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Presidents--United States; Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, W. Va., 2010; Opioid abuse--West Virginia; Public health--West Virginia; Voter registration--West Virginia; Identification cards--Law and legislation--West Virginia; Voting--West Virginia; West Virginia Politics and government; Tennant, Natalie; Obama, Barack; National Association of Secretaries of State (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
47 pages
Note (Biographical)
Natalie Tennant is an American public servant, government official, and political candidate. During the years of the Obama presidency, Tennant served as West Virginia secretary of state, and in 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia. After her service as West Virginia's secretary of state, Tennant worked on issues related to voting rights and election reform at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on June 13, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Natalie E. Tennant, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023