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CHARLESTON -- West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, a Republican candidate for governor, launched his second statewide coalition Thursday, this time to rally support of women.
The Warner campaign launched the Women for Warner coalition Thursday morning to a packed ballroom at the Women's Club of Charleston.
"If each one of you reaches out to your friends, your community, your church to bring more people to our cause, and then that spreads. That's how we're going to win this," Warner said. "Word of mouth, talking is going to bring in votes...that's how we're going to win this governorship, through the ground game."
The coalition is chaired by Delegate Debbie Warner, R-Monongalia, wife of Secretary Warner and a freshman lawmaker first elected in 2022.
"No one knows Mac Warner better than me," Delegate Warner said. "He's a great listener. He's been a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He's my very best friend, confident and partner in life. Mac has always supported me and encouraged me in anything I wanted to do."
The Women for Warner coalition boasts more than 130 supporters in all 55 counties in West Virginia and Delegate Warner said the coalition will recruit more women through to the May 2024 Republican primary to support Secretary Warner.
"Mac is a patriot, an innovator, and the kind of leader we can all be proud to follow," Delegate Warner said. "He is a man of faith, great integrity, and has a positive can-do spirit. Mac will lead and serve by example. As women, we are communicators and connectors, and this is how we're going to win this election. So, let's work together by making phone calls, raising money, and spreading the word about this great man -- Mac Warner -- whom I'm proud to call my husband and the next governor of West Virginia."
Delegate Warner is a real estate agent in the Monongalia County area. A native of Kanawha County, Delegate Warner and Secretary Warner have been married for more than 40 years with four adult children who are current or retired U.S. Army officers. Secretary Warner said Delegate Warner would make a great first lady for the State of West Virginia.
"She is strong, independent, and detail-oriented," Secretary Warner said. "I understand what womanhood is all about because of the example she puts forward for us all, and it's what West Virginia needs right now. We need a first couple who serve the people of West Virginia."
Women for Warner is the second coalition created by the Warner campaign. Secretary Warner launched his Veterans and Military Families Coalition in March on the riverside steps of the Capitol. The Veterans and Military Families Coalition includes more than 100 veterans and family members of veterans and active service members from all of West Virginia's 55 counties.
Secretary Warner announced his candidacy for governor in January in front of the West Virginia Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the Capitol Complex. He is in the middle of his second four-year term as West Virginia's 30th Secretary of State, serving as the state's chief elections officer and the state registrar of businesses since 2017.
Warner served 23 years as a U.S. Army officer, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Upon retirement, Warner worked for five years as a contractor with the U.S. State Department in Afghanistan. As Chief of the Organizational Capacity Building Section, Warner helped advise the Afghan government as it organized the Afghan Supreme Court, Attorney General's office, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Women's Affairs.
There are eight Republican candidates for governor who have either publicly announced or filed pre candidate papers, including Secretary Warner. Other candidates include Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, State Auditor J.B. McCuskey, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito, automobile dealership owner Chris Miller, Terri Bradshaw, Edwin Vanover and Rashida Yost.