CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County delegate wants a statewide office.
Delegate J.B. McCuskey (R-Kanawha, 35) announced his plans to run for state auditor in 2016 during appearances Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline” and at the State Capitol.
“I’m running for this position because I want to bring a new energy to the office,” McCuskey said.
“I want to bring energy that enables our auditor’s office to modernize but, more than that, I want to bring conservative principles of smaller government, transparency, efficiency and accountability to the office so we can ensure that we’re spending the taxpayers of West Virginia’s money wisely.”
McCuskey, an attorney at Steptoe & Johnson, was first elected to state House of Delegates in 2012 and is currently in his 2nd term representing Kanawha County’s 35th District. He serves as assistant majority whip.
The auditor is the state’s official bookkeeper and chief inspector.
If nominated in May’s Republican primary, McCuskey could face Glen Gainer III in the 2016 General Election.
Gainer is in his 6th term and has previously said he will seek re-election. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in West Virginia’s 1st District in 2014.
When he first took office in 1993, Gainer succeeded his father, Glen Gainer, Jr., who had held the position from 1977 to 1993. In prior years, other Gainers also held the office.
“I love West Virginia and I grew up here. My wife and I have made it our proud home for years and, in many ways, politics in West Virginia are just stuck in the past,” McCuskey said.
“We’ve had either Glen Gainer or Glen Gainer, Sr. as auditor for the last 40 years.”