Mike Woelfel is a Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate representing the 5th district.^[1] The 5th district includes all of Cabell County and a small portion of northern Wayne County.^[2] In 2022, Woelfel was chosen as Minority Leader of the Senate.^[3]

Woelfel was first elected in 2014 to succeed Evan Jenkins who left the Democratic Party and chose to run for Congress as a Republican. Woelfel's victory was a rare pick up for the Democratic Party during a year that otherwise saw major Republican gains in West Virginia.^[4] In 2020, Woelfel was appointed as Minority Whip for the Senate Democratic caucus.^[5] Two years later, Woelfel became the Minority Leader after his predecessor, Stephen Baldwin, lost re-election.

Woelfel maintains a private personal injury law firm with his son, Matthew Woelfel.^[6] Prior to his time in the Senate, Woelfel served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Cabell County and was appointed, on a part-time basis, to a juvenile judicial office for the Supreme Court of Appeals.^[6] He also served as an adjunct professor at Marshall University.^[7]