CHARLESTON – Former U.S. Attorney and State Senator Mike Stuart has made it official.
Stuart, a Republican from Kanawha County, filed paperwork to run for West Virginia attorney general at the state Capitol on Jan. 23.
“President Trump selected me to defend West Virginia as United States Attorney,” Stuart said West Virginia record. “I am asking West Virginians to elect me to defend them against the radicals and liberals in Washington who want to destroy our jobs, values and families.
“There is a real conservative in the race now.”
Stuart will face State Auditor J.B. McCuskey in the primary election. Wheeling attorney Teresa Toriseva also announced plans to run as a Democrat for the seat being vacant by current AG Patrick Morrisey, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
McCuskey originally planned to run for governor, but dropped out of the race in July to focus on the AG position. In October, Stuart called on McCuskey for “significant contributions” from personal injury lawyers to his campaign. Stuart was critical of the contributions of “Democratic personal injury attorneys” to McCuskey’s campaign.
Ryan Weld, another Republican state senator, also announced plans to run for AG. However, in November he announced his intention to run for re-election to the state Senate.
“There is no more important role in state government today than that of attorney general,” Stuart said. “I am not seeking a job, title or endorsement after failing to gain 3% of the vote in the governor’s campaign. I am not running for Attorney General for a “consolation prize” or, frankly, “to be” Attorney General.
“I’m running to ‘make’ attorney general because West Virginia needs someone with my unique skills, experience and stamina like never before.”
Stuart said this is an significant election for the state.
“At no time in West Virginia’s history has it been more important that we have a strong, proven conservative with a proven track record as a top-level lawyer and prosecutor,” he said. Record. “Our values, our work and our way of life hang in the balance.”
He also boasted about his record.
“I have been practicing law at the highest level for almost 25 years,” Stuart said. “I was a true prosecutor on the front lines of the opioid crisis. As a member of the Trump administration and as a United States attorney, I have worked hand-in-hand with law enforcement and first responders and have always supported the decision.
“During my tenure as the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official in southern West Virginia, I led a historic corruption investigation led by two members of the West Virginia Supreme Court, the largest drug raid in West Virginia history, the largest Medicaid fraud, and the largest criminal prosecution in the history of our state for fraud and we have taken enough fentanyl off the streets to kill over 40 million people.”
Stuart claims he is the only true conservative running for AG. He announced on Twitter that he was filing suit against two trial lawyers.
“I am running for Attorney General against two candidates – one Democrat and one Republican, fully endorsed, supported and financed by Democratic personal injury attorneys.”
He went on to say that he is the only candidate who is “100% pro-life, pro-Trump and unapologetically pro-Trump.”
“I am the only candidate who has been a top federal prosecutor, a member of the Trump administration, a United States attorney and endorsed by West Virginia,” Stuart said. “I will aggressively fight the climate lunatics, woke radicals, and extreme liberals so that we can drill, frack, and extract the pretty, bountiful energy beneath our feet.
“I will take on the two-tiered justice system that has unfairly meted out to President Trump. I will fight corruption in the name of families and parents’ rights, and against government orders. “I won’t just talk, but, as my past shows, I will go forward as a conservative who is not afraid of the big fight.”
