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Romney rallies Republicans

BECKLEY, W.Va. — The man who soundly defeated President Barack Obama throughout West Virginia in the 2012 Presidential election says West Virginia needs to send more Republicans to Washington, D.C. this November.

“This is the team that’s got to represent West Virginia in Washington,” Mitt Romney told a cheering crowd of several hundred at Tamarack in Raleigh County on Tuesday afternoon. “I am proud to be here and stand with them today.”

Mitt Romney, a former Presidential candidate, endorsed Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito’s (R-W.Va.) U.S. Senate run during two stops in West Virginia on Tuesday.

Along with the Beckley stop, Romney was in Charleston Tuesday for a fundraiser on behalf of 2nd District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito — the Republican running for the U.S. Senate against Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, the Democratic nominee.

Romney also endorsed Alex Mooney who is running against Nick Casey, former state Democratic Party chair, for Capito’s U.S. House seat in the 2nd District along with state Sen. Evan Jenkins (R-Cabell) who is challenging 19-term Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) in the 3rd Congressional District.

“That means a lot to us,” said Congresswoman Capito of Romney’s endorsement. “It means a lot to getting us to where we need to be.”

The former Massachusetts governor is more popular among many West Virginians than the man he lost the election to two years ago. Romney won all 55 counties in the Mountain State in the 2012 Presidential election and carried 62 percent of the vote in West Virginia to President Barack Obama’s 36 percent.

“We’re going to elect these guys and more like them across the country,” Romney said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in 2016. I sure want to see a Republican president. We have a lot of good people who are going to run.”

His West Virginia stop is the latest he’s making, on behalf of Republican candidates across the country, ahead of the November midterm elections with control of the U.S. Senate potentially in play. He’ll visit Arkansas, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia in the coming months.

“Right now, we need to elect people who can go to Washington, can pass some bills, can make some changes and send them to President Obama’s desk and then if he vetoes it, he’ll be the guy that’s the ‘Party of No,'” Romney said.

Democrats were quick to criticize Romney’s campaign stops in West Virginia and his comments about President Obama.

“Congresswoman Capito is desperately trying to hide behind other Washington politicians because she knows her record of serving Wall Street doesn’t stack up to Natalie Tennant’s record of serving West Virginia families,” said Jennifer Donohue, spokesperson for the Tennant campaign.

“This race is between Natalie Tennant, who saved $3 million and gave it back to taxpayers, and Congresswoman Capito, who voted to let Wall Street CEOs take in huge bonuses at taxpayers’ expense.”

The Tennant campaign has repeatedly pointed to a 2003 press conference from Romney, when he was serving as governor in Massachusetts, in which he said a Salem coal-fired power plant in Massachusettes “kills people.” At the time, he was pushing for the plant to comply with new state emissions regulations.

“I did run for President twice and I think I made it very clear in my Presidential campaigns that I’m a friend of coal,” Romney said when asked about the comment. “This President and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are not.”

One of Romney’s environmental advisors, when he served as governor in Massachusetts, was Gina McCarthy — now the administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In all, McCarthy advised five governors in Massachusetts on environmental issues.

Romney first unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. His running mate in 2012, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) visited Charleston to stump for Capito last month.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.





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