Patricia Rucker

Patricia Puertas Rucker is a West Virginia State Senator serving the 16th District. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela and came to the United States in 1981 with her family.

Patricia attended public school in Montgomery County, MD, where she graduated from Magruder High School and a received a degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C with a B.A. in History with a minor in Latin American studies. After college, Patricia taught public school in Maryland and after getting married, moved to Harpers Ferry, WV where she home-schooled her five children.

In 2016 Patricia was elected to represent the West Virginia Senate, 16th district and in 2019, was named Chair of the Education Committee. She has since passed legislation to stop the teaching of Common Core, to bring school choice to WV and has helped improve the regulatory and legal climate of the state. In 2023, she was named Chair of the School Choice Committee where she hopes to continue to improve education in this great state.