Morrisey visits Elkins while on the campaign trail
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ELKINS -- West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican candidate for governor in 2024, stopped by The Inter-Mountain offices this week during a campaign swing through Randolph County.
Morrisey had just made a campaign stop at an Elkins restaurant for a breakfast meet-and-greet.
"We did a campaign stop at the Lunch Box," Morrisey said. "We met with about 20 people, and then I probably met another 25 or 30 people who were coming in for breakfast. It was hopping! It was a lot of fun. It actually reminds me of when I first ran for attorney general.
"I've been the attorney general for the past 10 and a half years," he said. "We've done so many good things for our state, protecting our jobs and our values. Now, I'm looking forward to this campaign for governor, because West Virginia deserves a proven conservative with a record of moving the needle on big challenges facing the state. I'm the only candidate in this race for governor who not only can say that, but has the record to back it up."
According to a West Virginia Chamber of Commerce poll released in July, Morrisey led all other Republican candidates for governor in a very tight race. According to the poll, Morrisey led with 31% while House Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito carried 30% of those polled.
"I think we're building a strong grass roots army because people know I have by far the best record and they know I'm the proven conservative," Morrisey said. "There are other nice people who are running, but it's different to be a nice person or have a good idea, as opposed to having the depth of experience and being someone who's been there and done that, who's taken on Bloomberg and Soros … and won! These guys don't have the tools to do that."
Morrisey was last in Randolph County on June 14 to speak at American Legion Auxiliary WV Rhododendron Girls State on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.
"This is an important part of the state," he told The Inter-Mountain. "We wanted to spend time with some of the folks in Randolph County. Throughout my tenure as attorney general, I've consistently come here, and listened to what's on people's minds, and as I'm running this campaign for governor, I know that Elkins and Randolph County play a huge part in our state's future.
"We have to change the mindset where when you ask kids what they're doing, and a lot say they're going to be leaving the state for economic opportunities, we need to change that whole mindset. We have to focus aggressively on workforce participation, and the tools to allow people to obtain those jobs: Vo-Tech education, educational partnerships and apprenticeships, and starting to fill many of those 65,000 open jobs in the state right now."
Morrisey acknowledged that serving as attorney general and running for governor has been a lot of work, particularly with the recent flurry of activity involving the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"It's been very busy," he said. "We just had five victories at the U.S. Supreme Court, and most recently the Mountain Valley Pipeline. That was a huge win, and most importantly, that was a team approach, because you saw different members of the federal delegation step up, and we're grateful for that.
"West Virginia wins when we work as a team, and I was very proud to put the state of West Virginia on that brief, because this is so important for our state and for our jobs, and also for American energy independence."
Morrisey won the 2018 Republican primary for U.S. Senate but lost the general election to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Morrisey announced his candidacy for governor in April.