CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Harrison County House of Delegates GOP nominee Tim McNeely says he can now look toward the November election. 
McNeely stayed ahead of incumbent Del. Laura Kimble in the race for the nomination to the 71st District seat. McNeely lead by four votes after election night, six votes after the canvass and six votes after the recount that ended Thursday night.
During a Friday appearance on MetroNews “Talkline”, McNeely said he knocked on hundreds of doors through the campaign and tried to listen to what the voters were saying. He also had high praise for the team of campaign workers that helped him continue to deliver his message across the 71st District.
“It’s very hard to beat an incumbent, as you know,” McNeely said. “My opponent put up a really strong, hard campaign, and congratulations to her and her supporters, but it was time for us to get off the bench, so to speak, and try to do some things to move our state forward.”
McNeely has worked in the Bob Wise administration as the General Counsel and Deputy Director of the West Virginia Development Office and helped to bring the Pete Dye West Virginia Classic to the state. He also worked closely with current U.S. Senator Jim Justice, the Greenbrier, and the PGA Tour to bring the Greenbrier Classic to the state and served as the first executive director of the tournament. He has also served as the athletic director and vice president at Fairmont State University at a time when the programs were modernized and the school appeared in their first NCAA championship game in 2017.
“One Democrat and one Republican as the general counsel for our state economic development office,” McNeely said. “So, I have that background, and I feel like I bring a lot of experience and know-how as it relates to economic development especially.”
During the campaign, the number of doors McNeely knocked on is in the neighborhood of about 700, and he said people told him many of the same things we hear about the state. Voters want better roads, better schools, and more opportunity to keep younger people from leaving the state.
“Fix our roads, fix our infrastructure, fix our bridges, keep our schools safe, keep our education strong, and keep our curriculum strong for our kids. Stronger communities build stronger families,” McNeely said. “That’s what we heard going door-to-door.”
McNeely and his wife are small business owners in the Bridgeport area and are very familiar with the economic development potential of the area. The area offers a wide range of education opportunities, utility-related jobs, high-tech jobs, government jobs, and opportunities in the aerospace industry.
“We have so many great economic drivers—the North Central West Virginia Airport, the aerospace industry, our health care industry in this area of the state, and the High Tech Corridor,” McNeely said. “There are so many opportunities.”
Supporting policies that help those assets grow will create more opportunities to keep young West Virginians from leaving. The same policies could also create an economic climate that could help the state grow its population.
“We’d like to keep all of our kids here; we want to make sure we have opportunities, jobs for our kids, and all of the things that help us move our state forward out of 49th place and up that list,” McNeely said.
McNeely faces Democrat Robert Garcia in the November General Election.