Family Policy Council President Caiden Cowger, center, watches as the West Virginia House of Delegates passes Senate Bill 468, creating the Unborn Child with Down Syndrome Protection and Education Act, during a 2022 floor session. (Photo courtesy of the WV Legislative Photography)

CHARLESTON — In April, West Virginia Family Policy Council President Caiden Cowger was upstairs at the State Capitol Building lobbying lawmakers during the recent legislative session to support bills of importance to his organization. Downstairs, Cowger was working for the State Auditor’s Office.

Cowger is alleged to have violated state law by lobbying while working as a part-time temporary public employee and parted ways with the State Auditor’s Office after it was brought to their attention. But questions remain about what Cowger’s role at the office was and his job responsibilities there, as well as his lobbying work.

The Audit Trail

According to documents, Cowger left his part-time job with the State Auditor’s Office sometime after April 9, though the office would not confirm whether he was fired or resigned. Requests for comment from the office and Cowger were unreturned.

Employment records obtained from the office through Freedom of Information Act requests confirm that Cowger was employed as of April 9, but the office’s records as of the end of April no longer show him as an employee. The State Treasurer’s Office confirmed that Cowger’s final paycheck was processed on May 2.

Caiden Cowger drives newly sworn-in West Virginia Auditor Mark Hunt in the inauguration parade in front of the State Capitol Building on Jan. 13. (Photo courtesy of WV Legislative Photography)

According to sources at the Capitol, Cowger left the State Auditor’s Office shortly after the potential conflict was brought to the attention of Auditor Mark Hunt.

Cowger has been president of the Family Policy Council since his predecessor, Allen Whitt, resigned to challenge U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in the Republican Senate primary in 2020. Among other issues, the Family Policy Council — founded in 2006 — advocates for religious liberty, anti-abortion and pro-marriage policies.

Bills supported by the Family Policy Council during the 2025 legislative session included Senate Bill 663, a bill aimed at preventing debanking; Senate Bill 85, adding criminal and civil penalties for distributing medications used for abortions without valid prescriptions; and Senate Bill 299, eliminating narrow exceptions in state law for the use of medication-based gender-affirming care for minors.

SB 663 and 85 passed the Senate but were never taken up by House committees. SB 299 was passed by the Senate on March 6 in a 32-2 vote and the House of Delegates on April 12 — the final day of the 60-day session — in an 86-12 vote.

State Code 6B-3-2(E)(4) prohibits will and pleasure employees of executive branch departments from engaging in lobbying activities during their employment and for one year after they leave the employment of the state. State code defines “lobbying” and “lobbying activity” as the act of communicating with elected officials to influence the passage, defeat, approval or veto of any legislation.

Family Policy Council President Caiden Cowger, right, attends the 2023 bill-signing ceremony with former Gov. Jim Justice for Senate Bill 546, which amended West Virginia’s drug schedules and added Delta 8 and Delta 10 to Schedule I. (Photo courtesy of the WV Governor’s Office)

According to emails obtained from the State Auditor’s Office through a FOIA request, Cowger began his part-time temporary employment with the office on Feb 10, nearly one month after Hunt took office as the state’s 22nd auditor, succeeding now-Attorney General J.B. McCuskey.

Cowger was paid $25 per hour up to 30 hours per week, was assigned a State Auditor’s Office email address and was issued his own state purchasing card. According to his last email dated April 6, Cowger provided Deputy Chief of Staff David Cole renderings for lapel pins and ID badge clips he was purchasing for the office.

Hunt, a former Democratic member of the House of Delegates and candidate for Congress, switched parties to Republican and won election to the state Senate in 2022 representing parts of Kanawha, Putnam, Jackson, Roane and Clay counties. He ran for the Republican nomination for auditor in a four-person primary, receiving more than 39% of the vote. He went on to win the general election over Democratic opponent Mary Ann Claytor.

According to the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance Reporting System, Hunt’s 2022 Senate campaign and his 2024 auditor campaign spent $16,150 with Cowger Creative, with $10,000 for advertising services during the 2024 GOP primary. Cowger can be seen sitting on the Capitol steps during the Jan. 13 inauguration ceremonies for Gov. Patrick Morrisey and other statewide officials, as well as driving Hunt in the inauguration day parade in front of the Capitol on Kanawha Boulevard East.

Under the Influence

Coming to prominence more than 15 years ago, Cowger started a conservative internet radio show as a teenager in Buckhannon. He has since become a Republican political operative and owner of Mountaineer Journal, an online news site. But Cowger became more active in state politics after taking leadership of the Family Policy Council in 2020.

Social media accounts for both the Family Policy Council and Mountaineer Journal often share each other’s posts, with Mountaineer Journal publishing articles attacking or praising state lawmakers regarding bills and issues of importance to the Family Policy Council.

An article published by Mountaineer Journal accused House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, of blocking the abortifacient bill, citing one unnamed source. A post on the Family Policy Council’s Facebook page, sharing a video posted by Mountaineer Journal, was aimed at bringing attention to several Republican state senators for voting against the debanking bill.

According to a review of records published by the West Virginia Ethics Commission, Cowger has never been a registered lobbyist for the Family Policy Council or any other entity, though Whitt, the organization’s former president, had been a registered lobbyist for the council.

According to state code and the Ethics Commission, lobbyists only need to register with the commission if they receive compensation for lobbying or spend money on elected and non-elected officials on behalf of clients to influence lawmakers and state officials.

If the Ethics Commission finds that someone is engaging in paid lobbying activities without registering with the commission, they could face sanctions, such as public reprimands, cease-and-desist orders, orders of restitution and fines. The Ethics Commission would not comment on any pending complaints filed against Cowger.

“I cannot confirm or deny the existence of a complaint,” said Kimberly Weber, the commission’s executive director. “Complaints that do not result in a finding of probable cause are confidential. Complaints that have resulted in a finding of probable cause can be found on our website.”

In February 2023, Cowger created Iron Arch LLC, a public affairs and advocacy firm that specializes in lobbying work. According to Iron Arch’s accomplishments page, Cowger takes credit for the passage of two bills in 2023: Senate Bill 546, which amended West Virginia’s drug schedules and added Delta 8 and Delta 10 forms of THC to Schedule I; and House Bill 2621, removing a 2021 requirement for bail bondsmen to be licensed through the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

“Iron Arch was successfully able to inform the public and decisionmakers concerning these issues, which resulted in public support for HB 2621,” according to a post on the firm’s website. “This new legislation inserted the necessary fixes ensuring that bondsmen could remain active and unhindered in their professional capacity throughout West Virginia.”

Cowger is not listed as a registered lobbyist for employers who might have had interest in those bills in 2023, nor is it clear who Iron Arch’s clients were for the bills. According to the Secretary of State’s business licensing database, Cowger has a number of LLCs and corporations, including Cowger Creative LLC, Cowger Media LLC, Gun Owners of West Virginia Inc., the Family Policy Council and Family Policy Council Education Fund, and the West Virginia Police Officers’ Association.

Cowger was also active in advocating in 2022 for Senate Bill 468, creating the Unborn Child with Down Syndrome Protection and Education Act. The bill would prohibit abortions in the event of a discovered disability except in a medical emergency. Cowger was present for the bill’s passage in the House of Delegates and later attended the ceremonial bill signing by former Gov. Jim Justice.

Individuals are also exempt from having to register as lobbyists with the Ethics Commission if receive no compensation from a nonprofit organization, restrict lobbying activities to no more than 20 days total throughout a regular legislative session and make no expenditures.

According to the Family Policy Council’s 2022 990 tax form filed with the IRS, Cowger reported no paid compensation for his role as president of the council. The Family Policy Council is registered as a 501(c)(4), a tax-exempt status for nonprofits engaged primarily in social welfare, though such organizations are allowed to engage in limited lobbying and support and/or opposition to political candidates.

The council reported $82,460 in contributions, grants and gifts in 2022, along with $15,397 in net assets at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year, the council reported $92,118 in total expenses and ended 2022 with $5,739 in net assets. But according to the Secretary of State’s charities database, the Family Policy Council has not filed an annual report since 2020 and has an expired status as of Nov. 11, 2023.

However, Cowger has indirectly financially benefited from the Family Policy Council. According to CFRS records, two independent expenditure committees created by Cowger – RightAct and Gun Owners of West Virginia PAC – paid him $15,192 during the 2022 election cycle.

RightAct received $5,000 from the Family Policy Council in March 2022, which then spent that $5,000 with Cowger Creative in September 2022. GOWV PAC received a $5,550 donation from the Family Policy Council in April 2022, then spent $5,192 with Cowger Creative that same month. The Family Policy Council provided GOWV PAC another $5,000 donation in October 2022, then spent $3,000 with Cowger Creative that month and $2,000 in November 2022.

Bill Drafting

The Mountaineer Journal published an article on April 17 critical of some Republican state senators who supported a motion to refer Senate Bill 745 to the Senate Rules Committee – effectively killing the bill 12 days before the end of the legislative session. It would have made changes to lobbying laws to the benefit of certain lobbyists, such as Cowger.

“In a surprising move, Sen. (Eric) Tarr (R-Putnam), along with Sen. Ryan Weld (R-Brooke, 1) and a bloc of their colleagues, pressured the (Senate Republican) caucus to refer the bill to the Rules Committee, citing what they described as a ‘technicality’ in how the bill was handled in Judiciary,” according to the article, which cited no sources.

Among other changes, SB 745, as amended, would have removed the 20-day limitation on lobbying activities during a legislative session by individuals who lobby for nonprofits. It also would have increased a $150 limit for individuals who lobby without compensation for expenditures in connection with lobbying activities to $1,000.

“The exemptions contained … are intended to permit and encourage citizens of this state to exercise their Constitutional rights to assemble in a peaceable manner, consult for the common good, instruct their representatives, and apply for a redress of grievances,” according to the text of the engrossed committee substitute for SB 745 as amended by the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Accordingly, such persons may lobby without incurring any registration or reporting obligation under this article.”

“Someone who is not being paid up, who is just up here – an interested citizen – we don’t measure it in terms if you’re up here 20 times or 1,000 times. You can do that,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, during a discussion of changes to a committee substitute for SB 745 on March 28. Stuart was the lead sponsor of SB 745.

“We often think of the person not being paid coming up here as Aunt Martha, who doesn’t have much money and coming up here, or some not-for-profit,” Stuart continued. “The reality is there are people … that have billions of dollars that may not be paid a thing but come up here and spend exorbitant amounts of money incurring influence…”

This bill would have also prohibited direct donations to political candidates by lobbyists and their spouses and prohibited political candidates from soliciting lobbyists. However, lobbyists would have been allowed to make political contributions to independent expenditure committees and political action committees, which have higher contribution limits than candidate committees. PACs would then be able to donate to political candidates.

“This does not address super PACs whatsoever except it is addressing the individuals and what they are able to raise,” Tarr said during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s discussion on SB 745 at the end of March. “When you donate to a super PAC, you’re not donating to the individual. So, lobbyists can still donate to a super PAC. They just can’t donate to an individual candidate … Super PACs can still raise money all they want. That part didn’t change.”

SB 745 was reported to the floor and amended on second reading on March 31 to further prohibit lobbyists from making donations to political party committees and caucus campaign committees. But the bill was referred to the Senate Rules Committee on April 1 in a 22-11 vote.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.