|hoto by Joselyn King West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, right, also a Republican candidate for governor, speaks with Bob Miller, executive director of the West Virginia 2 and Interstate 68 Authority, during a campaign stop at the Prima Marina in Moundsville on Saturday.

MOUNDSVILLE – West Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Morrisey sees himself as a battler ready to fight for West Virginia, and he says he has experience “in the arena” his opponents do not.

In addition, he is ready to duke it out as governor with neighboring states in a battle for regional economic supremacy.

Morrisey touted his record as West Virginia’s attorney general while addressing supporters gathered at the Prima Marina in Moundsville on Saturday.

“We’ve taken on a lot of fights haven’t we? And we’ve won a lot of those fights, haven’t we?” Morrisey asked those present.

“You folks know the nonsense I’ve fought coming out of the federal government … remember when they tried to do mandates on virtually everything relating to COVID? Your attorney general just didn’t (stand aside). I fought back and I won. We won every single COVID mandate case except one at the Supreme Court.”

He added that when similar mandates were suggested at the state level, he also objected and fought against them.

“I worked together with my colleagues, and we worked together to have big victories for West Virginia,” he continued. “That’s the kind of experience we need.

“When you’re thinking about choosing your next governor, you want to get someone who has been in the arena and fought for our state. My other opponents cannot say that.”

They can “talk about what their hopes and dreams are,” but West Virginians need someone to stand up for them during difficult times, Morrisey explained

“Who do you want standing on the point to protect West Virginia? I think that (my record) makes it a very easy choice,” he said.

Morrisey told those present he never imagined himself ever being the attorney general for West Virginia, much less governor.

A native of New Jersey, he often traveled to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle to kayak or hike. When he later took a job in Washington, D.C., he bought a house in Harpers Ferry in 2006 and “became part of the community and wanted to make a difference,” according to Morrisey.

In 2012, he was elected attorney general and has served in that role since that time.

Morrisey noted that he comes from a working class background.

“I feel very fortunate that my experience is very similar to others in the room,” he said. “The reality is I’m not a product of political royalty. I’m not the guy who has been handed everything on a silver platter. I know what it is like to work, and I was the first in my family to graduate college and law school. And I know like a lot of you, I had to struggle.

“But West Virginians know about struggle. I’m not special or different from you guys. I fought in the arena. When things got difficult, I kept going.”

He noted his “conservative record of getting things done.”

“I’m strong for the 2nd Amendment, and endorsed by the West Virginia Coal Association,” Morrisey said. “I’m strongly pro-life, and I have been taking on these crazy fights where they have been allowing (transgender) men to compete against women. And I tell you we are going to win that fight for our state.”

Dressed in West Virginia University attire, he said West Virginia needs “a good old fashioned competition” with other nearby states similar to the “WVU-Pitt” rivalry.

He asked how many present pay attention to the “Backyard Brawl” during sporting events, and pull for WVU to win.

“I want to do the same economically for all the states that we touch,” he said. “I want to look at Pennsylvania and Ohio, and Virginia and Kentucky, and I want to lay out every tax and every regulation, every educational policy, every workforce rule.

“I want to compare these to other states. Then I want to beat all the states until West Virginia wins in the economic arena. If we win the regional competition, then we can start to emerge nationally.”