Charlotte Jean Pritt (born January 2, 1949) is an American educator, businesswoman, and politician in the U.S. state of West Virginia. From 1984 to 1988, she served in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Kanawha County. From 1988 to 1992, she served in the West Virginia State Senate. She ran unsuccessfully for West Virginia governor in 1992, 1996 and 2016 and for West Virginia Secretary of State in 2000. Career Prior to entering politics, Pritt, the daughter of a coal miner, worked as a high school English teacher and a college professor. During the span of her educational career, she served as director of communications at Kanawha County Schools and director of the West Virginia Writing Project at the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies. She had also served as an independent marketer and president of the Charleston office for SteelOaks/Acorn Investments and formerly owned Pritt Associates. When elected to the West Virginia State Legislature, she directed two federal education grants and the National Writing Program in West Virginia. Statewide campaigns 1992 Pritt ran for governor as a Democrat in the primary election in 1992, but lost to Gaston Caperton. She gained notoriety initially by challenging then-Governor Caperton on his grocery and gasoline taxes and opposition to collective bargaining. She also managed to garner strong union support. Even so, Caperton had outspent Pritt 10 to 1 and defeated Pritt in the primary, 42.68 to 34.65 percent. West Virginia attorney general Mario Palumbo came in third, with 20.1 percent. After losing the Democratic primary to Caperton, Pritt refused to endorse her opponent and mounted an independent write-in bid for governor in the general election. This action led to a splinter in the state's party establishment. She garnered 7.4 percent in the race, in which Caperton defeated Republican Cleve Benedict, 56 to 36.6 percent. 1996 Pritt ran as a Democrat for governor and defeated future Governor and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin in the primary, 39.5 to 32.6 percent. She was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties and gained the endorsement of then President Bill Clinton. During the primary, Manchin had attempted to portray her as "anti-gun", which Pritt denied by stating she owned a shotgun and being a 12-year member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) at that time. After the primary, a group known as "Democrats for Underwood",