CHARLESTON — An Upshur County attorney is running for governor as the libertarian candidate and hopes she can help West Virginians in a time where everything has become extremely political.
"I've been asked a lot why I'm running because it is so out of character for me," Erika Kolenich said in an interview with The West Virginia Record. "The world has become so political and the major two-party system has not helped that cause. It's not helping West Virginians"
Kolenich said it was clear to her that there were many people who were not voting at all because they had become so disenchanted by the process.
"It is sad to me that we live in the United States and that there are people voting out of fear — they don't want one candidate so they vote for the other," Kolenich said. "I felt lost in that process, too. I don't want people to be voting out of fear."
Kolenich said that campaigning was going well, despite COVID-19 making it tough to continue with a grassroots campaign.
"As a libertarian, you typically run a grassroots campaign — going out knocking on doors and talking to people and that can't really be done right now," Kolenich said. "But, I have a pretty good team in place with social media, so we've been doing that."
Kolenich said she has been doing a lot of Facebook live videos, as well as being able to talk to people one-on-one via phone and e-mail.
"I have loved being able to have this one-on-one contact," Kolenich said. "I can really talk to people and answer their questions and hear what they have to say."
Kolenich, a civil litigation attorney, said with her career, she's used to working with real West Virginians on real issues.
"Because I run my own business, I can relate to small business owners having to balance everything," Kolenich said. "I'm not a politician — and I know many say that — but I wasn't groomed to be one. I'm completely different."
Kolenich said she has always been involved primarily with non-profits and community.
"I do theater, I act," Kolenich said. "When my husband ran as the libertarian candidate for attorney general in 2016 I became very passionate about the libertarian cause.
Kolenich grew up outside Buckhannon and worked in her parents' convenience store growing up. She went to West Virginia Wesleyan College and graduated with a degree in theater. She moved out of state to go to law school at the University of Akron, before moving back and settling down back in Upshur County.
Kolenich and her husband have a 19-year-old daughter who now attends West Virginia Wesleyan College. Kolenich enjoys hiking and doing things outdoors in her spare time.