Former West Virginia governor and US senator Jay Rockefeller dies at 89
The Democrat served two terms as governor and spent 30 years in the US Senate representing West Virginia.
Jay Rockefeller, the former West Virginia governor and longtime US senator, died at his home in Washington at age 89. According to reports from The Hindu and The Washington Post, he passed away on Friday, November 6, 2026. His family has not disclosed a cause of death.
Rockefeller was a Democrat who served five terms in the US Senate after previously serving two terms as governor of West Virginia. He arrived in the state in 1964 to work in the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) anti-poverty program, an experience he said was transformative for his political beliefs.
During his Senate career, Rockefeller was a major advocate for healthcare. He authored legislation in 1997 that created the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to assist poor families in providing medical coverage for uninsured children.
As head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Rockefeller criticised President George W. Bush’s handling of the Iraq War. Although he voted in 2002 to authorise the war, he later expressed regret, telling the Charleston Gazette in 2004 that he would have voted against it had he known then what he knew later.
Born John D. Rockefeller IV in New York City, he was the great-grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller.
He was married to Sharon Percy Rockefeller, the president and CEO of the public broadcasting station WETA.
