Rosemary Ketchum

Rosemary Ketchum (born ) is an American politician and community organizer serving as a city councillor for Ward 3 of Wheeling, West Virginia from 2020 to 2024. She is the first transgender person elected to political office in West Virginia. In 2024, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Wheeling.

Life Ketchum was born and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio. Her mother worked as a waitress and bartender and her father worked at a porcelain factory. She moved to West Virginia with her parents. She earned degrees in psychology from West Virginia Northern Community College and Wheeling Jesuit University in 2019. On June 9, 2020, she won the non-partisan municipal election against Peggy Niebergall, Jerome Henry, and Erick Marple, becoming the first transgender person elected to political office in West Virginia. Following her victory she was praised by Annise Parker, the former Mayor of Houston, Texas, and congratulated by GLAAD. Ketchum is the subject of the 2020 West Virginia Public Broadcasting documentary Rosemary. She was a candidate for mayor of Wheeling in the 2024 election, coming in second against Denny Magruder.

Electoral history