Her Roots Run Deep
Stephanie is a public school teacher, civic leader, and lifelong advocate for working-class families in West Virginia.
Born and raised in Marion County, she learned early what it means to work hard, stretch a paycheck, and rely on neighbors when times are tough. Those lessons didn’t just shape who she is—they shaped who she fights for.
Growing up along the Husky Highway, Stephanie built deep roots in her community. She fondly recalls riding her bike to the Mannington pool, casting lines at Rachel Dam, sled riding at the Nick Saban Football Field in IdaMay, and proudly marching under the Friday night lights at Woodcutter Stadium. Those memories grounded her in the values of teamwork, resilience, and showing up for one another.
At North Marion High School, she was active in athletics, the Marching Band, and FFA, while working part-time at Red Dot Pharmacy—experiences that strengthened her work ethic and sense of responsibility.
After graduation, she balanced work and school to pursue higher education, earning degrees and certifications in Biology and Secondary Science Education from West Virginia University and Fairmont State College. Her path reflects a lifelong commitment to education, science, and serving the community that raised her.
Stephanie and her husband Chris believe that raising their two daughters in West Virginia has been their greatest adventure. Today, both Tomana girls are in college.
A Life of Service
For more than two decades, Stephanie has served Marion County as a dedicated science educator, making a lasting impact in both parochial and public schools. Her classroom is built on curiosity, critical thinking, and hands-on learning that brings science to life.
Students in Stephanie’s classroom engage in immersive STEM projects, participate in Science Fairs, explore the universe inside the Star Lab, attend meaningful field trips, and help maintain a thriving classroom greenhouse. She believes learning should be experienced, not just memorized.
Beyond the classroom, Stephanie serves as Chairperson of the Local School Improvement Council, where parents, teachers, and community members collaborate to assess school needs and guide improvement efforts. She is also Co-Faculty Sponsor of the Science Honorary and serves as a liaison for the Student Assistance Team, helping ensure students receive the academic and personal support they need.
Her dedication to science education has earned her nominations for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 2021 and 2023.
In 2022, she received the J. Kevin Scanlon Award for the Promotion of Science—an honor made even more meaningful because she was nominated by her students for her tireless support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Affectionately known as “Coach T,” Stephanie has spent years coaching Track & Field, Cross Country, and recreational soccer, mentoring young people and fostering confidence, discipline, and teamwork our children deserve.
Stephanie serves as President of the S. N. Elliott Foundation, a scholarship trust dedicated to continuing the Elliott family’s legacy of service, education, and community support. Stephanie became an educator because she believes West Virginia’s children deserve every opportunity to thrive. She has worked alongside students and families across the region and witnessed the consequences of underfunded schools and policies that fail working families.
As a proud union member, she has stood shoulder to shoulder with fellow educators to defend public schools and fight for the future.
Stephanie serves as Marion County Democratic Executive Committee Vice Chair and West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee Vice Chair for the 2nd Congressional District.
We. Deserve. Better.
While serving on the Board of Directors in her town, Stephanie worked to secure funding for projects that mattered — restoring the historic IdaMay School, improving local parks, purchasing a new town truck, and successfully securing a congressional spending request for fire hydrants. Although that funding was later clawed back by the current administration, she remains proud of the effort, because fighting for your community, even when it's hard, is part of the job.
Stephanie has never been shy about fighting for working families. In 2021, she was featured in a Working Families Party ad campaign supporting the THRIVE Act (Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy). This progressive legislation centered on job creation, worker rights, environmental action, and racial and economic justice, and prioritized pandemic recovery.
This wasn't her first political campaign. Stephanie refused to let an entrenched incumbent in a heavily gerrymandered state house district go unchallenged in 2024, and she built something real in the process. Powered by labor unions, small donors, and everyday West Virginians, her campaign grew from the ground up, without a single corporate PAC dollar. In a record year for voter turnout, when most candidates across the state lost by double digits, Stephanie closed the gap to just nine points—outraising and outpacing even congressional candidates. She's proven she can compete.
Clean water, safe roads, and good schools aren't partisan issues, and West Virginians know it.
They also know they can trust Stephanie. That's why neighbors cross party lines to support her—because when someone speaks with honesty and fights for the things that actually matter to your family, you notice.
In 2026, she took that energy to the highest level, Stephanie filed to run for Congress in West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District with just over three months until the primary—months behind opponents who had been building their campaigns for a year or more--and with a fraction of the money on the table. And still, on primary night, a public school teacher who'd entered the race at five minutes to midnight, who'd spent her days in the classroom and every minute after on the campaign trail, came within two points—fewer than 900 votes out of nearly 45,000 cast—of winning the nomination outright. What she and her supporters built in that short window is, honestly, hard to put into words.
Stephanie ran for the communities that raised her, to give rural West Virginians a voice in the places that matter most, that campaign may be over, but the fight isn't.
We. Deserve. Better.
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