Former federal prosecutor Mike Stuart announced he plans to run for state Senate.
Stuart, who is also a former West Virginia Republican Party chairman, announced he will run in the newly-redistricted 7th Senate District.
That district, currently represented by longtime Senator Ron Stollings, consists of Boone, Lincoln, Logan and the southern part of Kanawha County.
Stuart, who was co-chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign in West Virginia, took a national approach to the politics of the district in his announcement today.
“The liberals have assaulted our freedom, our faith, and our families,” Stuart said. “Add to that decades of job-killing policies by career politicians that destroyed the economies of Lincoln, Logan, Boone and Kanawha counties.
“The DC and Charleston swamps have done enough damage. The good ol’ boys have taken care of themselves at our expense. It’s time to send a tough prosecutor with a proven record of getting things done to Charleston to fight for our families and our future.”
Stuart, speaking on MetroNews’ “Talkline,” said the redistricted Senate map played a major role in his decision to run for office.
“Running for the state Senate was never on my agenda. It was never something I thought I would get the opportunity to do,” Stuart said.
“But when I saw that I was drawn into Lincoln, Logan, Boone and my part of Kanawha County, nothing excites me more because it’s really my heritage, it’s where I’ve lived since I’ve returned, it’s what I was fighting for.”
.@MikeStuartWV announced his intentions on running for the state senate seat, which is now held by Democrat Ron Stollings. He explains his decision to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/vYMkK1GvNF
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 19, 2022
Delegate Zack Maynard, a Republican from Lincoln County, had been rumored to consider a run in the Senate district. But Maynard announced this week that he will not seek political office at all in 2022. Instead, he said he will focus on his children and his business.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for giving me the chance to serve you and be able to make real change in southern West Virginia,” Maynard said in a post on Facebook.
Stollings, D-Boone, responded to Stuart’s announcement by saying anyone is welcome to run — but Stollings said he would like to continue working for the district.
“I’m the incumbent, I’m in my 16th year, I’ve tried my best to really help the southwest coal fields,” Stollings said in an interview at the Capitol. “Again, anybody can run for public service and for this seat.
“I’m going to run, as I always have, a clean yet vigorous campaign for re-election. I think there’s some things left out there that we need to get done, that we need to get across the finish line. Diversifying coal country is an important thing, and the upper Kanawha Valley, my new section, is very similar to the original Seventh District.”