BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. –State Senator Tom Willis defeated Senate President Craig Blair during last year’s election and on Monday Willis officially launched a new campaign, this time for U.S. Senate, taking aim at 10-year incumbent, fellow Republican, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
Willis made the announcement at Charlotte’s Café in Berkeley Springs with a crowd of sign-waving supporters flanking him, and accompanied by his wife and two of his children.
“Today just isn’t the launch of a campaign it’s the start of a new mission–one that comes from heartbreak, from persistence and an unshakable hope in God and the belief in West Virginia and its people,” Willis said.
Willis was introduced by Pastor RC Coyle of God Won Ministries.
Willis said West Virginians have been neglected, from families with sick children, coal miners, seniors on fixed incomes, homeless veterans and single parents. “I hear you,” Willis said. “When I am in the US Senate you will have a fighter who cares about you and defends your freedoms.
He said the U.S. face challenges and a serious fighter is needed in the Senate.
“We’ve got a very aggressive China…we have a national debt that’s out of control and we need a serious fighter that is going to stand up and do something about these issues, not an entrenched politician that has been there for a long time,” Willis said.
Capito is expected to run for reelection next year. She’ll be going for her third six-year term. Recent campaign finance reports show Capitol with more than $3 million in campaign war chest.
Willis defeated Blair in the May 2024 GOP Primary and has served one year as a state senator from the 15th District, which represents Morgan County and parts of Berkeley and Hampshire counties.
Capito was first elected to the US Senate in 2014 and began her term in 2015. Prior to that, she served in the U.Ss House of Representatives beginning in 2001.
Among others challenging Capito for the 2026 primary, former West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans and Alex Gaaserud, who announced his intention to run back in 2024