Chris Rose

WHEELING — Republican Chris Rose knows it’s going to be a thorny ride on his way to gaining the GOP nomination to West Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024.

Rose, 32, was the first candidate to announce in the race. U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney and Gov. Jim Justice later followed.

Rose sees himself as different from the two and the one who should get the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

A resident of Monongalia County, Rose grew up in McDowell County and worked as a fourth-generation coal miner while attending Bluefield State College. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology and moved his way up through the ranks in the coal industry from labor to management.

He presently is an electrician for an electric utility company.

“I’m running because I’m sick and tired of people in Washington not standing up for coal country and jobs in West Virginia,” Rose said. “I have the blue-collar, working-class appeal to face (incumbent Sen. Joe) Manchin. As a blue-collar conservative with a background in the coal industry, I have the appeal to bring in the votes.

“I’m a lifelong West Virginian, and a lifelong conservative. I didn’t relocate here from another state, or switch parties. I’m also the only one in the race who is not under investigation for campaign finance fraud, or being sued for hundreds of millions in unpaid debts.”

Manchin has yet to declare whether he will seek re-election to the Senate seat.

Rose said he first became involved in politics during the 2010 election and the Tea Party Movement, and was a regional director for the Tea Party.

At that time, he also was among those founding the first Young Republicans club at Bluefield State College, and was its first chair.

Rose said he has always been a strong supporter of Trump, and doesn’t accept Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.

“Jan. 6 (2021 in Washington, D.C.) was a peaceful protest of a stolen election,” he claimed. “Congress should release all 40,000 plus hours of video footage of that day. American citizens are being locked away for years without due process.

“You have to look around the country to see unquestionable irregularities in the election. There were many mail-in ballots, and the big spike that happened during the night – it was not mathematically possible.”

Rose added that the 2020 election “is an outcry for election clarity in all 50 states.”

“We should be returning to having all paper ballots with voter identification at the polls,” he said.

Rose defines himself as “a staunch defender of the 2nd Amendment,” an avid outdoorsman, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and a member of both the West Virginia Civil Defense League and the Gun Owners of America.

He also promises that if he is elected to the U.S. Senate, he will limit himself to serving just two terms in the chamber.