SENATOR JAMES E. CARNES

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Former Ohio Sen. Jim Carnes is being remembered by many for laying the groundwork for today’s Belmont County Republican Party, his knowledge about politics, and being an all-around gentleman and “good man” in an age when that’s rare in the profession.

Carnes, 84, died April 25 at his home in St. Clairsville. His wife of 43 years, Frankie Lee Carnes, passed just last year.

Among the lasting monuments to Carnes will be the James E. Carnes Event Center at the Belmont County Fairgrounds. Carnes, while serving as Ohio Senate Finance Committee chairman, obtained much of the grant funding needed for the facility.

Carnes served in the Senate from 1995 until January 2004, when he was appointed to serve as the deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He was later appointed to the Ohio Liquor Control Commission and would serve in this position until his retirement in 2025.

Carnes was an employee of C, V, & W Coal before beginning a 57-year career with the Puskarich family and the Cravat Coal Company. He started as a bookkeeper and rose to become president of the company in 2010. He held the job until the end of 2025 when he was named president-emeritus.

Carnes was first elected chairman of the Belmont County Republican Party in 1970 at a time when GOP registrations were low and the party was strongly disadvantaged in the county. Over the years, he also served on the Belmont County Board of Elections for 24 years and was chairman of the board for 11 years prior to his appointment to the Ohio Senate in 1995. His wife, Frankie Lee, succeeded him and served on the board until her passing last year.

“He was a good and kind man, and so I consider it my honor to call him a friend,” said Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Berhalter. “He was a man always there to help anyone, regardless of their political affiliation.

“He had such a wealth of knowledge about politics. He was always there to share that information and help if he could.”

Carnes’ willingness to spend the time with the politically active and young candidates resulted in “a tremendous growth of the Republican Party locally,” according to Berhalter.

“That can be attributed to many, but he was one of the handful of people who truly led this charge,” he added.

Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan commended Carnes for the kindness he showed to others.

“First and foremost, he was the consummate gentleman,” he said. “In this day and age, especially in the world of politics, that is something lacking.

“Rarely do we find somebody who commands respect from both sides like Sen. Carnes did. Everything he did was done with dignity and respect, and people respected him whether or not they agreed with him. That is not easy to do nowadays.”

Belmont County West Division Court Judge Eric Costine called Carnes “a great Belmont Countian.”

“He was a great advocate for East Ohio and Belmont County,” Costine said. “He was very instrumental in the Belmont County Republican Party. He had a great heart.

“I certainly grieve for his family as his and Frankie’s passing were within a year of each other. Prayers to the family. My heart goes out to them.”

Belmont County Commission President Jerry Echemann remembered Carnes as “very gracious” and “knowledgeable.”

“And I know what struck me was how he was so gentle and unassuming,” Echemann said. “It was like ‘oh, hi, Jerry’ and he would shake your hand, just smiling. He just seemed so humble all the time.

“And, you know, I used to think, wow, how does that guy that gets so far in life being so seemingly nice? But it’s nice to know that someone who’s a gentleman can get that far in life, both professionally and politically.”

Commissioner Vince Gianangeli first came to know Carnes when Carnes was a state senator and Gianangeli served as president of the Sons of Italy in Bellaire.

“Along the way, I ran into Jim many of times,” he said “And like Commissioner Eschemann said, he always was a gentleman and very soft spoken.

“When I got this seat I reached out to him, and we got to have lunch. So I’m glad I got to sit down at the table and have lunch with him one day and listen to his advice as I was entering the political realm.”

Commissioner J.P. Dutton said he couldn’t help but feel that Belmont County had lost another legend.

“His impact is pretty well documented,” Dutton said. “He and both his wife, Frankie Carnes, served on the Board of Elections for a very long time. They both had an impact on a lot of individuals in Belmont County, and they will be greatly missed.

“I mean, he had such an impact both in Columbus and here in Belmont County….”

Dutton indicated the county will work to maintain the memory of Carnes by keeping up diligently with operations at the Carnes Event Center.

“In some ways, that is only one of the small things that he worked on overall his career,” he continued. “But we want to make sure that we’re honoring that legacy with the work we do.”