About Me

Patricia Puertas Rucker is a West Virginia State Senator serving the 16th District. She is
a former teacher who raised and homeschooled her 5 children with her husband of 29
years. She is very active in her church, St. James the Greater Catholic Church, was a
volunteer for 4-H and WV4Life-Jefferson County chapter.

Patricia is a first generation American citizen, born in Caracas, Venezuela, coming to the
US, Montgomery County Maryland, in 1981 when her father, Jose Puertas, an
international correspondent, was assigned by Agence France Presse to the Washington
DC desk. She has been a Harpers Ferry resident with her family since 2001 and her
hobbies include gardening, beekeeping and raising chickens and ducks on her small
hobby farm.

Education: Montgomery County, MD, public schools, Magruder High School (serving
one year as the mascot!) and a degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C with a
B.A. in History and minor in Latin American studies.

Patricia taught social studies in the Montgomery County Public School System before
starting a family. On November 8, 2016, she was elected to the West Virginia State
Senate in the 16th District and was sworn in on January 11th in Charleston to begin her
first 4 year term. She won re-election in 2020, and again last year in 2024. She
currently serves as Chair of the committee on Government Organization and Co-Chair of
the Rule-Making Review Joint Committee.

Senator Rucker was the lead sponsor or advocate for bills protecting the unborn,
bringing school choice to WV including the first universal education savings account,
the Hope Scholarship, and advocates for smaller government and greater transparency.
She also serves on the Executive Board of the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC) and WV Court Appointed Special Advocates (WV-CASA).

 Acknowledgements and awards:

• Received the “Champion of Industry” award from the West Virginia
  Manufacturers Association in 2017
• Received the Legislative Leadership Award for Arts in Education in 2020
• Received the Iron Lady Award from the American Legislative Exchange Council
  in 2021
• Recognized for Conservative Excellence by the American Conservative Union and
  was a Hunt-Kean Fellow 2019-2020.
• Champion of Free Enterprise awardee from the WV Chamber of Commerce 2021
• Awarded Champion of Public Charter Schools by the National Alliance for Public
  Charter Schools in 2024.
• Recognized as a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine in 2024.