MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito introduced her veterans coalition during a campaign stop Monday in Morgantown.
Capito was endorsed at the event by former West Virginia National Guard adjutant generals James Hoyer and Bill Crane along a group of other veterans.
“Going back to when she was a member of the House of Delegates, she’s been a steadfast champion of service members and veterans, but more importantly to us, to the families of our service members,” Hoyer said.
Both generals said they worked extensively with Capito through the pandemic, deployments, and and in the day-to-day operations of the guard. Crane told those in attendance Capito has showed her character on several occasions and veterans especially need her to continue fighting for them.
“I’ve seen her heart with spouses and family members and the other folks here in West Virginia,” Crane said. “She really cares about West Virginians and that’s why we need to keep her up there fighting for us every day.”
Capito said her father, former three-time West Virginia Gov. Arch Moore, served in World War II, and she understands the sacrifices made by not only the service members but also their families.
“Your veteran, service member, and Guard member is not a singular person,” Capito said. “It’s a family, it’s a family involvement that includes sacrifice- it’s a calling.”
Capito, who is seeking her third-term in the Senate, faces opposition in the GOP Primary. including State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley; former 2024 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Alex Gaaserud; Janet McNulty of Martinsburg; and David Purkey of Fairmont.
Former state Senate President Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, has filed to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Kessler said Monday on MetroNews “Talkline” he decided to run after learning about the cuts to rural health care included in the Big Beautiful Bill. That one piece of legislation he said will cause premiums to drastically increase for nearly 70,000 people and benefits to another 500,000 people are being threatened.
“You add up the 500,000 people that are going to have their Medicaid benefits cut together with the 67,000 that have seen their premiums skyrocket 600,000 people, one third of our 1.8 million people in our state are going to be affected by that decision,” Kessler said.
Other Democrats who have filed to run include Rachel Fetty Anderson, attorney and former Morgantown city council member; Thornton Cooper, attorney and nominee for Secretary of State in 2024; Rio Phillips, cybersecurity technician; and Zach Shrewsbury, political organizer and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024.
The Primary Election is May 12.
Other issues
On the government shutdown, Capito said she hopes the U.S. House approves the bill passed in the Senate. She said after that happens, negotiations on the operations and funding of Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol will get started.
“Didn’t like what they saw in Minneapolis with ICE and Border Patrol,” Capito said. “So, in the bill they rejected, there were body cameras in there, there’s an inspector general for investigations and de-escalation training.”