CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The new chair of the West Virginia Republican Party said she’ll be leading what she sees as “Team West Virginia” in her new role ahead of both the 2018 primary and general elections.
“We’ve got great people working for us,” said Melody Potter during an appearance on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Her vision for the GOP is to “gain on our Republican majorities in the Legislature, beat (U.S. Senator) Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), have five federal seats Republican and also to make sure that all of our statewide seats are also Republican.”
A former Kanawha County Republican Party chair and national committeewoman, Potter replaces Conrad Lucas as chair.
She was selected Saturday to serve out what’s left of Lucas’ term as chair until a vote for the full chairmanship term during the West Virginia Republican Party Convention this summer.
Lucas, who had served as party chair since 2012, plans to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. House in West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District.
The candidate filing period began on Monday.
.@MelodyWVGOP talks with @HoppyKercheval about being named the new Chair of the WV Republican Party. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIAoe1 pic.twitter.com/bel7H61DtJ
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 8, 2018
Potter is a resident of Kanawha County where she works as vice president of Tri-Star Coal Sales.
At age 29, Potter said she was diagnosed with a brain tumor that nearly took her life. About 25 percent of the tumor could not be removed, but Potter said it has not grown over the years.
The diagnosis is one of the drivers of her faith which, she told Hoppy Kercheval, will inform her work as leader of the state Republican Party.
“That really put a fire in my belly to try to stand to do the right thing and to stand for what’s right,” Potter said.
These days, she teaches a Sunday school class made up of both Democrats and Republicans.
“Those people are human beings that God loves and I don’t look at them as ‘party,’ because we’re all drawn together for the same reason and for a good foundation,” Potter said.
“I think there’s a lot of good people in all parties in our state and that’s the people I want to reach out to (as GOP chair).”