Editor, News-Register:

As a person born in Cleveland but who grew up in Huntington, my career has taken me across the border to Ohio on many occasions for work and friendship, which has led to a broad network of colleagues contiguous to the Mountain State. That said, a longtime trusted friend has represented the Columbus area of the Buckeye State in the United States House of Representatives and is being considered by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to serve in the United States Senate in place of Vice President-Elect JD Vance. I have known Congressman Mike Carey for more than two decades and I can say with great confidence that he would be an excellent addition to the United States Senate.

I first met Mike when he led the Ohio Coal Association during the re-elect of President George W. Bush in 2004. With both Ohio and West Virginia being critical states that year to re-electing the Republican president, it was great to work with Mike and play a part in both states keeping an anti-business environmentalist like John Kerry out of the White House.

We stayed in contact, and both of us continued our work in the coal industry, which faced powerful opposition from eight years of the Obama Administration. Mike not only brought a national voice to the push to back and protect the jobs of coal miners and domestic energy production, but was resolute in his positivity that, in the end, better times were on the horizon.

In 2016, Mike played a critical role in bringing then-candidate Donald J. Trump to WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, which was the first time that I was able to hear the future United States President speak in person. Sitting with a crowd of mostly union coal miners, President Trump was greeted with applause and cheers that sounded more like the reaction to a rock star than a political candidate. It was clear to me that President Trump was on his way to the White House, and Mike Carey was one of the people who made that important event happen.

Throughout his campaign and service as one of Ohio’s US House members, Mike Carey has stayed loyal to President Trump, Gov. DeWine and the people of his Congressional District.

He is a smart, energetic leader who, if selected, will carry on the good work of Vice President-elect Vance in the United States Senate and represent all of Ohio through hard work, dedication, and love of country.

It is my hope that Gov. DeWine will select Mike Carey for the United States Senate and ensure that states like Ohio and West Virginia continue to have a strong voice in Washington, DC for all of us.

Bill Bissett is the President of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association and previously served as the State Director for United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito. The views expressed here are his own.

Bill Bissett

Huntington