CHARLESTON -- For the first time in Boone County history a Republican candidate was elected as a representative to the West Virginia House of Delegates. On Tuesday, Joshua Nelson was sworn in at the Capitol in Charleston as a representative of the 23rd District of the West Virginia House of Delegates. “Today [Tuesday] I swore an oath to defend the constitution of the US and this great state. You can be confident I will not bend on this oath I took upon the book I hold most sacred,” Nelson said on his online Facebook page. A newcomer to politics, Nelson easily defeated Democrat incumbent Larry Barker 3,942 votes to 2,396. Nelson received 62.17 percent to Barker’s 37.79 percent, according to election results. Nelson thanked his supporters, as well as thanking Barker for his service to his community. “I am very honored to be given the privilege to represent the best people and coal miners in the world at the state Legislature,” Nelson said. “I will fight as hard for our jobs and way of life as I did in this election.” Nelson was really given no chance to win by many because he was a Republican. Nelson became the first Republican to win a seat in the state House and the first Republican to win any election in Boone County since 1984. Nelson added that while in the state House of Delegates, his top priority was to fight for coal miners and their jobs. “I have been entrusted with the responsibility of representing some of the the best people in the world,” he said. “During the campaign, I stated that one man cannot do it all, so to the people of this county, get ready...we have work to do!”