Nicholas Riley Keaton (born August 9, 1997) is an American politician who served as a Delegate to the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2020 to 2023. Keaton is a Republican.

Keaton was born in Spencer, West Virginia, to Tony and Tracey Keaton. He studied for his Bachelor of Economics degree at West Virginia University. As a teenager, Keaton was politically active. Before assuming office, Keaton was employed as the president of a limited liability company.^[1][2]

In his first primary, Keaton narrowly lost to incumbent Rick Atkinson in a three-way race, receiving 37.36% of the vote and missing the nomination by only 28 votes.^[3]

In the 2020 primary, Keaton defeated Atkinson with 52.01% of the vote to win the nomination.^[4]

In the general election, Keaton defeated Democrat Mark Pauley with 66.46% of the vote.^[5]

In 2022, Keaton's district changed following the states redistricting. He was once again up against Rick Atkinson in the primary. On May 10, 2022, he went on to win the primary with 56% of the vote to Atkinson's 44%.^[6]

In the general election, Keaton defeated Democrat Chuck Conner with 30.1% of the vote.

• Banking and Insurance^[7]
• Judiciary
• Small Business and Economic Development
• Technology & Infrastructure

Keaton is an assistant majority whip in the House of Delegates.^[1]

Keaton has an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund^[8] and a 100% rating from the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a regional gun rights organization.^[1]

With many of his fellow Delegates, Keaton signed onto a resolution requesting West Virginia Senators and Congresspeople to oppose bills that would allow statehood for the District of Columbia.^[9]

Keaton opposed Senate Bill 680, a bill that would make it harder for school staff to be given raises, but the bill passed the House of Delegates despite some Republican opposition.^[10]

Keaton was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2595, a bill that would prohibit so-called "divisive concepts" from being taught in West Virginia schools or promoted in other state-funded agencies. It targeted criticisms of American society, eliminating language that would refer to the US as a "fundamentally racist or sexist" country.^{[7][11][12][13]}

Keaton voted for SB 11, a bill that would make it more difficult for employees to strike.^[14][15][1]

On October 12, 2023, Keaton formally resigned from his position in the West Virginia House of Delegates, stating on his Facebook that he has accepted a legislative role with the Jim Justice Administration’s Department of Human Services.^[16]

Keaton is a Catholic.^[2] On October 8, 2022, Keaton married Sadie Shields at the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Charleston.^[17]