Deborah Stiles

Deborah Stiles is the Democratic candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates, District 85, in the November 3, 2026 general election.[1][2] A farmer in Tucker County, she previously worked as an agricultural and rural policy researcher and educator.[2][3]

Deborah Stiles was born in Elkins, West Virginia, and earned a bachelor's degree from Marshall University and graduate degrees from the University of Maine in 1990 and 1997.[2] In a 2024 Ballotpedia survey, she said her father worked as a county agricultural agent and farmed part-time, and that she grew up in 4-H and FFA.[3] She said she worked as a rural studies and humanities professor at an agricultural college and as a rural and agricultural policy researcher before retiring in 2020, and that she returned to her family farm in Tucker County in 2021.[3]

Stiles said in that survey that she decided to run for West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture because of the challenges she saw facing farmers.[3] Ballotpedia lists her as affiliated with the Friends of Mountaintop Public Library and the Five Rivers Public Library.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.