CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston attorney is getting into the 2016 race for attorney general in West Virginia.
David Higgins, a Democrat who filed pre-candidacy papers earlier this month, talked about his candidacy on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“Basically, what the voters are doing is they’re hiring a lawyer to represent the state,” Higgins said.
With more than 40 years of legal experience, he said he believes he could serve West Virginia well from the Attorney General’s Office.
Current AG Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, is running for re-election next year after considering a possible gubernatorial run.
Morrisey was first elected attorney general in 2012 when he beat incumbent AG Darrell McGraw who’d served since 1992.
The first Republican AG in West Virginia since 1933, he’s been aggressive in challenging regulations from the federal Environmental Protection Agency among other agencies.
Higgins said a lawyer needs “a client, not an agenda.” “Lawsuits should not be filed for political reasons. A lawyer has to have a client, that’s the basic, fundamental premise,” he said.
A Fayette County native, Higgins is a founding member of the Robinson & McElwee law firm and served on Charleston’s City Council from 2003 to 2011.
He unsuccessfully ran for state Senate in 2006, but went on to serve in the state House of Delegates from 2007 to 2008 after then-Gov. Joe Manchin appointed him to the position. He lost an election bid in the House during the 2010 primary election.
Primary Election Day 2016 in West Virginia is Tuesday, May 10.