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Bowling for West Virginia

Taxpayers foot bill for Tennant’s expenses (UPDATED)

West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant / AP
October 8, 2014

UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect the nature of the Secretary of State's office expense filed under Weirton Bowling. The money was spent on legal defense, not bowling.

A Washington Free Beacon review of the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office budget revealed several expense charges filed under the heading, "Weirton Bowling Alleys."

Three payments under this heading were made from Democrat Natalie Tennant’s office from December 2013 to April 2014. The charges, however, were not for bowling, but for legal defense. Weirton Bowling Alleys lost recognition from the state as a business after failing to file a required annual report in 2009. It filed suit to challenge the state reporting law before dropping the case in 2014. Tennant’s office transferred about $1,700 to the attorney general’s office to defend the state law against a suit filed by the business.

The Tennant campaign defended the secretary’s record as a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, pointing out that she was able to return money to the state government by cutting expenses.

Tennant's tenure has featured several questionable line items. Taxpayers shelled out more than $1,500 for candy since she took office. She also paid a DJ nearly $500 to entertain guests at the 2013 County Clerk Conference.

She has also overseen a costly redecoration at the secretary of state’s office. She spent more than $25,000 on office furniture, including an $800 bookcase and $19,000 on new chairs. She spent nearly $5,000 on window curtains and reupholstering existing furniture.

A West Virginia political operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, told the Washington Free Beacon that such expenses demonstrate Tennant’s problems convincing a conservative-leaning electorate that she is serious about controlling spending.

"Seeing her track record of incompetence in office and how she has twisted Shelley Moore Capito's record, I am not surprised that taxpayers have had to pay for her fun and games," he said.

"Natalie Tennant cut her own budget and gave $3 million back to the taxpayers of West Virginia," Tennant spokesman Jennifer Donohue said in a statement.

Tennant is running against Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller in a race that will help determine the Senate majority in 2014. Capito leads the race by 17 points with four weeks to go until the Nov. 4 elections, according to a Real Clear Politics poll average.