Senate President Craig Blair is enjoying his second decade in the Legislature, his second term wielding the gavel and a Republican majority of 31 of the 34 members of the chamber.
But heading into election season, Blair also has a couple of challenges. Businessman and attorney Tom Willis, a former Green Beret, has announced a primary challenge. So has former Delegate Mike Folk, a commercial airline pilot.
“Conservatives believe in competition and the free market. As a conservative who always puts the interests of our state first, I welcome any and all competition in state Senate elections across West Virginia. Voters deserve choices,” Blair said in a statement issued by his campaign in the 15th District that includes part of Berkeley County as well as all of Hampshire and Morgan counties.
“I am looking forward to a robust campaign focused on the issues, because I am proud of our record of accomplishment in the state Senate—largest tax cut in state history, banned elective abortions, strong Second Amendment protections, creation of thousands of jobs, and the most comprehensive school choice policy in the nation. Conservative promises made, conservative promises kept!”
Blair, 63, made his living as owner of Sunset Water Inc. The Republican’s only electoral loss was in 2010 when, coming off almost a decade as a delegate, he challenged then-incumbent Democrat John Unger in the Senate. Blair lost that one but won a Senate seat in 2012.
By 2021, Blair was elected president of the Senate on the strength of a Republican caucus that has continued to grow. But that supermajority also comes with challenges as members sometimes fracture along policy and political lines.
Blair’s friend and Senate president predecessor, Mitch Carmichael of Jackson County, lost in the 2020 Republican primary to school teacher Amy Nichole Grady, who has now risen to become the Senate Education chairwoman.
Willis, one of Blair’s current challengers, was a relative unknown in 2018 when he jumped into a crowded Republican primary field for U.S. Senate. Willis finished fourth in the primary with 9.8 percent of the vote.
Now he’s aiming for the state Senate against a powerful incumbent.
In an appearance on Panhandle Live on WEPM Radio last week, Willis did not call out the incumbent by name but talked about differences.
“I feel confident matching my background with anyone. I have 23 years of public service in the military. I think it’s fairly rare that you would find someone with both the military experience and the business and legal experience that I bring to the table,” Willis said on radio. “So if you match me up with anybody side by side, I feel very confident that what I bring to the table is going to serve the voters of West Virginia better.”
During his announcement, Willis described frustration among school teachers, the ongoing challenges of student achievement, the economic climate for entrepreneurs.
“I believe that West Virginia can lead the nation as a city on a hill. And I believe that West Virginia can shine as a beacon of freedom,” Willis said.
Folk served in the House of Delegates from 2012 to 2018 and ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2020, losing to incumbent Gov. Jim Justice.
A major goal, Folk said, is controlling spending.
“We’re spending like drunken sailors both at the state and federal level and at the same time promoting some very — well, let’s just call it what it is. People refer to it as ‘woke,'” Folk said on “Panhandle Live.”
Folk’s comments on radio went directly after Blair for state records that show reimbursements for travel and per diem of $54,950 in fiscal 2022 and $53,386 in fiscal 2023. Blair has made another $65,000 a year as pay for serving as Senate president.
“The documents are out there. He paid himself, total, over a hundred thousand dollars, and that includes per diem mileage and his Senate president pay,” Folk said.
“I know he’s not representing the values of the 15th District. The 15th is a very conservative, fiscally conservative, hard-working, blue collar district.”
WEPM Radio’s Luke Wiggs contributed to this story.