Okey Patteson holds a bachelor's degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and completed post-graduate work at Carnegie Institute of Technology. He has held various leadership roles, including serving as President of the Fayette County Court and sheriff of Fayette County. Patteson has also managed real estate and automobile businesses and worked as a personal assistant to a governor. His post-governorship career involved roles in banking and infrastructure management.

Okey Patteson's political career is marked by an intriguing blend of progressive infrastructure initiatives and conservative criminal justice decisions. His establishment of the state's first medical school and the partial completion of the West Virginia Turnpike reflect a forward-thinking approach to public services, while his handling of high-profile criminal cases shows a preference for traditional law enforcement methods. Patteson's ideological agility is evident in how he balances these seemingly disparate policy areas, prompting questions about the underlying rationale for his decisions.