MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Second District Congressman Alex Mooney made his first visit to the Morgantown area as a member of the 118th United States Congress Friday.
Mooney said he has been planning the trip but was delayed by the election of a House Speaker and ratification of the rules.
“It’s just great to come out here, and I look forward to meeting folks.” “I know they’ve been looking forward to hosting me for awhile, and I wanted to wait until I was sworn in,” Mooney said. “I think there’s a lot more to see, this is just scratching the surface of Morgantown, Mon County, and the 27 counties that I now represent.”
Mooney spent nearly two hours at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital talking to the leadership and staff about opening the facility and dealing with the recent tridemic challenges. Mooney toured the critical care and pediatric cardiac units, the birthing floor, and several family support areas.
“Kudos to all the donors that made it happen and to the people working here,” Mooney said. ” I could tell by the people who gave me the tour, there were five or six at any given time, they really believe in what they’re doing and that kind of dedication really makes a difference.”
Mooney said he is prepared to legislate and campaign over the next two years, adding that he will be required to spend four days a week in Washington, D.C., during the session to vote.
Mooney has announced he will run for U.S. Senate in 2024.
Mooney said he welcomes a potential 2024 primary battle with current West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice if it does develop. During the campaign for the Second District seat, Justice endorsed Mooney’s opponent, former Rep. David McKinley, and ran an ad that the sitting congressman still wants an apology for.
“He did run a TV add attacking me in the last race and what he said were lies,” Mooney said Friday. “I asked him to apologize, and he has not been able to bring himself to apologize for lying, and it’s proved everyone knows it’s not true.”
Mooney rejected claims that his political past in Maryland, including serving in the state senate and as the Republican Party chairman, was just a distraction. He said his track record of serving the Mountain State is documented.
“I thank the voters who have elected me five times now to the U.S. House of Representatives in West Virginia, which now represents half the state,” Mooney said. “I think when he and others resort to name-calling and other things, it’s because they are embarrassed about their records and they don’t want to talk about the issues.”
Justice said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline” that he’s “probably” running for Senate. He also mentioned Mooney.
“The Senate race would be very interesting and I would love to be in it, and I would love to be in it if my opponent is Alex Mooney,” Justice said.