This Liberal Cab Driver Is Also West Virginia’s Unlikeliest Politician

How one scruffy, folk-singing hippie took on the political establishment in Trump Country…and won.

Photos by Craig Hudson

Standing before a crowd of over 1,000 sign-waving marchers outside the West Virginia Capitol, Delegate Mike Pushkin wears the standard legislator outfit — a pinstripe suit — but his ruffled dark hair and scruffy beard set him apart. Ribbons worn in support of teachers, service personnel, and public employees flutter on his lapel. With the gold-plated Capditol dome gleaming in the sunlight, Delegate Pushkin stops to attach a neck strap to his guitar before picking up the microphone.

Though the crowd showed up to protest an anti-abortion measure on this sunny March afternoon, Pushkin speaks to the issue suddenly galvanizing the state, as well as liberals across the country in 2018. “We’re all standing here in solidarity with the movement to give teachers a decent pay raise, to give service personnel a decent pay raise,” he opens. His voice grows more emphatic with each phrase and the applause grows louder. “We’ll take care of our other public employees while we’re a…