{{short description|American politician (born 1996)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Joshua Higginbotham | birth_name = Joshua Kurt Higginbotham | image = | state_delegate = West Virginia | district = 13th | term_start = December 1, 2016 | term_end = November 5, 2021 | predecessor = Michael Ihle | successor = Kathie Hess Crouse | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|07|23}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = | children = | education = University of Charleston (BA) | profession = | website = }} '''Joshua Kurt Higginbotham''' (born July 23, 1996)<ref>{{cite web |title=Joshua Higginbotham |url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/house/biography.cfm?member=Delegate%20Higginbotham |website=wvlegislature.gov |publisher=West Virginia Legislature |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref> is an American politician and author. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican, representing the 13th district, from 2016 until November 2021.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Pierson|first=Lacie|date=November 8, 2021|title=Higginbotham resigns from House of Delegates|work=Charleston Gazette-Mail|url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/kanawha_valley/higginbotham-resigns-from-house-of-delegates/article_272689c7-228b-5dfb-b516-9435030d6e46.html}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Higginbotham is the son of Kurt and Trina Higginbotham. He graduated from Poca High School in 2014 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Charleston in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 5, 2017|title=Higginbotham announces re-election bid|work=Point Pleasant Register|url=https://www.mydailyregister.com/news/17905/higginbotham-announces-re-election-bid|access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>
==Career== Higginbotham was elected to the House of Delegates for the 13th district in 2016. At the time of his taking office, he was 20 years old, the youngest member of the House.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schmitz |first1=Ali |title=W.Va.'s youngest lawmaker says older voters inspired by millennials' passion, energy |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1870020979 |access-date=August 3, 2020 |work=Gazette-Mail|date=February 20, 2017|id={{ProQuest|1870020979}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
In 2018, Higginbotham was among delegates that visited Taiwan to promote investment in West Virginia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pace |first1=Fred |title=Lawmakers promote WV investment during Taiwan trip |url=https://apnews.com/213491ac3f1441d4b23b153f157985e1 |access-date=August 3, 2020 |work=Herald-Dispatch |date=August 19, 2018}}</ref> In December 2018, he was named an assistant majority whip by House Speaker Roger Hanshaw.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 26, 2018|title=Rohrbach named to House leadership positions|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/0e0d6303181540649b45175dffaf9416}}</ref>
In 2021, Higginbotham was the lead Republican sponsor of the Fairness Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in West Virginia's Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Young|first=Charles|date=February 9, 2021|title=West Virginia LGBTQ advocates condemn Mandt remarks, call for passage of Fairness Act|work=West Virginia News|url=https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/west-virginia-lgbtq-advocates-condemn-mandt-remarks-call-for-passage-of-fairness-act/article_a53c7de8-053d-50d6-b669-8043200b51d7.html}}</ref> Higginbotham was also the only Republican in the House to vote against a bill that forces transgender students to play on sports teams according to the sex they are assigned at birth, as opposed to their gender identity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Madani|first=Doha|date=June 16, 2021|title=West Virginia Republican state legislator comes out as gay|work=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/west-virginia-republican-state-legislator-comes-out-gay-n1271073}}</ref> Later that year, Higginbotham attended the Spirit of Lincoln Gala honoring former First Lady Melania Trump, hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sosin|first=Kate|date=October 10, 2020|title=Trump has gutted LGBTQ+ rights. Could a Biden presidency undo the damage?|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/10/trump-has-gutted-lgbtq-rights-biden-presidency-might-undo-damage/3608929001/}}</ref> He also visited the America First Policy Institute, led by former Trump administration officials.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Higginbotham|first=Joshua|date=December 6, 2021|title=Tweet|url=https://twitter.com/higginbotham4wv/status/1468015185180958723|website=Twitter}}</ref> As of September 2021, Higginbotham has been the lead sponsor of 49 different bills in the Legislature.<ref>{{Cite web|title=West Virginia House of Delegates|url=https://www.wvlegislature.gov/house/lawmaker.cfm?member=Delegate%20Higginbotham|access-date=September 2, 2020|website=House of Delegates}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Haycraft|first=Ashley|date=September 13, 2021|title=Del. Joshua Higginbotham announces run for WV Senate 2022|work=WBOY-TV|url=https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/del-joshua-higginbotham-announces-run-for-wv-senate-2022/|archive-date=October 24, 2021|access-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024153248/https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/del-joshua-higginbotham-announces-run-for-wv-senate-2022/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In September 2021, Higginbotham announced he will run for the West Virginia Senate in the 2022 elections for a seat in the Kanawha Valley.<ref name=":0" /> In December 2021, Higginbotham was endorsed by former EPA administrator and Trump cabinet member Andrew Wheeler.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 28, 2021|title=Major Announcement|url=https://twitter.com/higginbotham4wv/status/1475943416601194499|website=Twitter}}</ref>
He is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Del. Joshua Higginbotham Biography|url=https://www.alec.org/person/joshua-higginbotham/|access-date=2021-10-24|archive-date=2021-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024154407/https://www.alec.org/person/joshua-higginbotham/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Personal life== Higginbotham is a Presbyterian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/higginbotham4wv/status/1404231138202243074|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> In 2014, at the age of 18, Higginbotham released ''Ecclesiastes'', a fictionalized version of the Bible book of the same name, on eLectio Publishing.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Charlotte|date=July 25, 2014|title=18-year-old WV author churns out 'Ecclesiastes'|work=Gazette-Mail|url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/arts__entertainment/18-year-old-wv-author-churns-out-ecclesiastes/article_f28a95bf-aa83-5659-a314-eb571ee73c1d.html|access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>
In June 2021, Higginbotham made statewide and national news when he publicly came out as gay, becoming the first openly gay Republican lawmaker in West Virginia.<ref>{{cite news|title=I'm gay. I've wanted to tell you this for many years, but I couldn't be public like I wanted because there were still a few people in my family who didn't know yet—now they do. So now I'm telling you, too.|url=https://twitter.com/higginbotham4wv/status/1404216338474807296|access-date=June 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kercheval|first=Hoppy|date=June 15, 2021|title=Higginbotham Comes Out|work=West Virginia MetroNews|url=https://wvmetronews.com/2021/06/15/h/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Waltemyer|first=Katelyn|date=June 17, 2021|title=Joshua Higginbotham wants all West Virginians to feel comfortable in their skin|work=Jackson Newspapers|url=https://www.jacksonnewspapers.com/story/news/2021/06/17/west-virginias-13-th-district-delegate-announces-hes-gay/7720565002/|access-date=October 24, 2021|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024154849/https://www.jacksonnewspapers.com/story/news/2021/06/17/west-virginias-13-th-district-delegate-announces-hes-gay/7720565002/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbotham, Joshua}} Category:West Virginia Republicans Category:Living people Category:1996 births Category:American gay politicians Category:LGBTQ state legislators in West Virginia Category:American gay writers Category:American Presbyterians Category:American LGBTQ conservatives Category:21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature Category:People from Poca, West Virginia
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