CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Secretary of State-elect in West Virginia is looking forward to returning to the Capital City.
“This is the right job for me at the right time in my career, in my life,” said Republican Mac Warner, a Morgantown attorney, on the day after Election Day.
“I am going to have a chance to come back to Charleston where I was born and raised.”
Warner was elected Tuesday when he beat current Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, who was first elected in 2008, 49 percent to 47 percent.
It was the closest of the Board of Public Works races with the difference between Warner and Tennant at about 12,600 votes, according to unofficial MetroNews results.
Tennant had been seeking a 3rd term.
Warner announced his intentions to run for Secretary of State in December 2015 and, after officially filing in January, he hit the road.
In all, he’s visited all 55 counties to speak with election officials and others.
“I plan to take a very deliberate approach towards the Secretary of State’s Office, beginning with those county clerks, and working with them closely, taking advantage of their expertise and the thoughts (they have) on how to improve the communication between the clerks and the Secretary of State’s Office.”
Warner told MetroNews he’ll be focused on several areas as Secretary of State.
“The elections, the voter registrations, the voter rolls, that whole electoral process and just restoring the faith, the transparency, the faith of the people in the office and then every official in this state needs to be focused on jobs, jobs, jobs,” Warner said.
There are steps the Secretary of State can take, in his view, to improve West Virginia’s economic climate by reducing “burdens” on businesses.
“Improving the business registrations, the interface that people have with the office and then working on the Board of Public Works to do everything we can to reduce the regulations and make it easier for people to start businesses,” he explained.
A 23-year U.S. Army veteran, Warner wrapped up nearly five years of work as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Justice Sector Support Program at the close of 2015.
In his home state, “I’ve loved traveling the state. I’ve loved meeting with the people, but it’s just energized me to get into that office, apply this expertise that I’ve been given through my military and State Department careers to the Office of Secretary of State,” Warner said.
“I’m excited to go to work and I’m so humbled that the people of West Virginia have given me this opportunity.”
Warner unsuccessfully ran for Congress in West Virginia’s 1st District during the 2010 Republican primary.