WHEELING, W.Va. — Senator-elect Bill Ihlenfeld wasn’t happy with what he saw going on in his community and around West Virginia.
He said Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline” that he felt working families weren’t being treated right, the opioid crisis wasn’t being addressed as aggressively as it should be, and he was tired of watching the corruption in Charleston and people in government lining their own pockets. He wanted to make a difference in the state Senate and now he will get the chance to.
Ihlenfeld, a Democrat, defeated Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, a Republican in District 1 on Tuesday. Ihlenfeld, a former federal prosecutor, won the race by 2,003 votes. Both are from Wheeling.
“I would not have gotten into the race if I was pleased with the way my opponent was handling all the issues,” Ihlenfeld said on MetroNews “Talkline.”
“If I thought he was doing a good job, I would have stayed out of it. I saw that I could get in there, make a difference and do a better job than he was. Nine months later, here I am.”
It was a grassroots campaign for state Senator-elect Ihlenfeld, with strong backing from family, friends, educators, and organized laborers.
“With the help of a small army of volunteers, there was an energy with this campaign that continued to grow and really culminated with yesterday’s results.
“The teachers were with me 100 percent. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I did. They knocked on doors for me, they made phone calls, they wrote postcards. They were with me all along and they helped push me across the finish line.”
Ihlenfeld felt that along with being pro public education, his background as a federal prosecutor dealing with the opioid crisis and the corruption of public officials resonated with voters.
“People like the fact that I have that experience,” he said. “I have actually worked on the opioid crisis. I have found solutions, I have brought federal dollars back to West Virginia from Washington. I actually have a track record in two of the most important issues that we face.
“There are a lot of good things happening around the state in fighting the opioids. We need a cabinet level drug czar who is going to take all of the great ideas happening in our state right now in Huntington, Martinsburg and Morgantown and pull it all together, and make sure all those programs and opportunities are available around the state.”
He also wants to see the state do a better job of pulling in federal dollars to help the fight against drugs.
The polls in weeks leading up to this race were close with the unofficial final tally on Tuesday being 53 percent to 47.
Ihlenfeld said he felt the momentum turning in his direction after debates with Ferns on Monday, Oct. 22 and Wednesday, Oct. 24.
“We had a couple of debates a few weeks ago and that is when I think the tide really turned for me,” he said. “My polling was telling me the race was a dead heat in mid-October and then I was able to get up on live broadcast television in my market and it allowed voters to see me standing side-by-side with my opponent. It gave me the opportunity to speak to the voters in a way I never could have with my campaign budget.”
Ihlenfeld served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia under from 2010 until 2016 and is a graduate of Ohio University, and the West Virginia University College of Law.
The 1st Senatorial District includes all of Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties along with a portion of Marshall County.