CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fifteen months after taking office, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey still owes $1.3 million in campaign debt.
The Republican loaned himself $1.4 million in 2012 to defeat longtime Attorney General Darrell McGraw. Since then, campaign contributions have been trickling in. Morrisey said that’s to be expected.
“I’m not up for election or re-election until 2016,” he explained last week on MetroNews Talkline.
Morrisey said he’s been less concerned with the debt and more concerned about getting his office in order.
“I’ve really tried to focus all of my energies on how we can have the best possible office and hopefully help West Virginia reach its potential,” he said.
However, at some point, Morrisey is going to have to deal with the debt. He made it clear that will come soon enough.
“There’s going to be plenty of time to focus on politics and fundraising,” according to the attorney general. “I think we’re going to be ramping up a lot of our efforts over the course of the next year.”
Morrisey seemed confident he won’t have trouble raising the money to pay off the debt.
“I think it’s just a matter of turning my attention to focus on it at the right time. I’d rather spend all of my energies during my first 15 months of office trying to ensure the office is becoming known for its quality as opposed to spending 70 percent of my time doing fundraising,” he said.