Statewide GOP Candidates Visit Charles Town

Five Republican candidates for state wide offices were in Charles Town on Saturday night (April 12) to address a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters at the annual Jefferson County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner, held this year at the Citizens Fire Hall.

The candidates attending and the offices they seek were Mike Teets, Commissioner of Agriculture; Dan Greear, Attorney General; Charles Minimah, Secretary of State; Beth Walker, Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and; Russ Weeks, Governor.

The dinner was attended by several candidates for local office, Republican Delegates Craig Blair and Walter Duke, Senator John Yoder, County Clerk Jennifer Maghan, Harpers Ferry Mayor Jim Addy, and well over 100 other Republican supporters.

Each of the statewide candidates took about ten minutes to address the crowd and all were well received. Beth Walker said that she is not a politician and will probably not seek re-election in 2021, but, after 17 years of dealing with the Supreme Court, she feels called to run to try to make the Court more responsive to the people and to the state. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the prestigious law firm of Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff, & Lowe, which has offices in Charleston and Martinsburg, among other cities.

From left, local resident Suzanne Morgan, Supreme Court of Appeals candidate Beth Walker, and 58^th Delegate District candidate Tomas Engle attended the Republican Lincoln Dinner in Charles Town.
Photo by: Annette Stone

Charles Minimah is running for the office of Secretary of State, which is being left vacant by Betty Ireland’s decision not to seek re-election. She is taking time off to care for her mother, who has severe health problems. Betty has said that she will be back on the ballot some day, probably in a higher position. Charles said that "This election is to empower the people to think and work towards growth and prosperity and not just sit around and complain." He said. "If the people don't get involved, the problem still remains."

Charles Minimah,candidate for Secretary of State, addresses the Jefferson County Republicans at Citizens Fire Hall on Saturday.
Photo by: Annette Stone

Dan Greear, whose opponent in the Primary was absent, talked about the positive things that an Attorney General could do for the state. The crowd appeared unanimous in thinking that it is necessary to defeat the incumbent for West Virginia to prosper. Mike Teets said that he would work to expand the opportunities that farmers have to be more profitable and thus keep their land in use for agriculture.

Former Senator Russ Weeks said that we need to eliminate a variety of taxes so the entrepreneurial spirit can thrive in West Virginia. The food tax, the inventory tax, and the business franchise tax are just a few unnecessary and burdensome taxes that should be eliminated immediately, he opined.

Republican candidate for Governor Russ Weeks came to Citizens Fire Hall on Saturday. Saturday.
Photo by: Annette Stone

Anne Dungan, Chair of the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee, said that she was pleased with the turnout and with the enthusiasm expressed by the attendees. She said that she thinks it bodes well for the chances of keeping West Virginia a “red state” in November. She also said that she hopes that the state can finally break the 78 year stranglehold that the Democratic Party has had on the state, pointing out that “West Virginia’s per capita income in 1934, six years into Democrat rule, ranked 30^th in the nation. It has ranked 48^th to 50^th for a number of years, moving up from 50^th only when hurricanes devastate the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana and Mississippi.” She also pointed out that the population of the state was 2 million in 1950 versus its current level of just in excess of 1.8 million. “Things must change if we are to have any hope of keeping our children and grandchildren in the state in the future”, she said.

Many of these same statewide candidates will attend the Berkeley County Lincoln Day Dinner on May 3 at 6:00 pm. For Ticket Information Call: 267-9738.