CHARLESTON – Patrick Morrisey says West Virginia needs an experienced Attorney General with a record of accomplishment to help the state get back on track following the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We need to have an Attorney General who will work to ensure West Virginians get back to work, who’ll work to connect broadband infrastructure, who’ll continue to fight the opioid epidemic,"”Morrisey told The West Virginia Record. “We’ve been fortunate enough to accomplish a lot in the last eight years, but there’s more to do.
“I want to continue to protect West Virginia jobs and the strong work of going after the root causes of the opioid epidemic.”
Petsonk
Morrisey, a Republican, is seeking his third term as Attorney General. Democratic challenger Sam Brown Petsonk and his campaign didn’t reply to numerous requests for interviews from The Record.
Morrisey said he also wants to continue building on the reforms his administration has started since he took office in 2013 after he defeated longtime AG Darrell McGraw.
“We have established a competitive bidding system that has had incredible success,” Morrisey said. “It’s saved the state more than $10 million. That’s in dramatic contrast to what we had before with Darrell McGraw.
“And my opponent this time represents a return to that same friends and family plan. He’s talking about suing every business in the state. That’s the last thing we need in a post-COVID world.”
Morrisey also said Petsonk’s lack of experience and his “far radical left, socialist world view” isn’t what West Virginia wants or needs. He said Petsonk supports large tax increases, is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and “doesn’t respect the Second Amendment.”
“The role of Attorney General is to be the chief legal officer of the state,” Morrisey said. “It isn’t a policy position. If he wants to do policy, he should run for the Legislature.”
On the campaign trail, Petsonk has made Morrisey’s involvement in a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He says such a move would cost the state at least a billion dollars in federal Medicaid funding and would raise premiums on people with pre-existing conditions.
Morrisey dismisses Petsonk’s claims.
“He’s being dishonest,” Morrisey said. “We’re trying to eliminate the unconstitutional individual mandate. I just don’t believe you should penalize someone by making them purchase health insurance against their will. I haven’t met anyone wanting to take anything away from people with pre-existing conditions. We want to do all we can to protect West Virginians and their health care.”
Morrisey said he believes the U.S. Supreme Court only will remove the unconstitutional parts of the ACA. He said he doesn’t want to see the entire ACA tossed. He also said called the notion that those with pre-existing conditions will lose coverage nothing but a myth.
“The folks preaching doom and gloom are doing it for political reasons,” Morrisey said. “No one has lost coverage to date. We want to change the system that’s driving so many small businesses and individuals to pay exorbitant premium rates.”
Petsonk also has said Morrisey’s settlements with drug companies in opioid lawsuits have been too low, citing Morrisey’s previous work as a lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies.
Again, Morrisey disagrees.
“We’ve been focused on the root causes of the epidemic,” Morrisey told The Record. “That includes cutting the supply in the state. Elicit prescription numbers are down 51 percent.
“We’ve done what we can in our jurisdiction as well as we can. And that also includes allowing the state, cities and counties to do well in the national settlement discussion. I pulled West Virginia out of the national settlement so the state didn’t get ripped off. I think we’ve positioned cities and counties very well.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but there still is more to do. We still need to more aggressively monitor the amount of drugs in the marketplace so it reflects actual medical demand. President Trump’s administration and my office have made a lot of progress in this area. We sued the DEA and forced them to rewrite their rules regarding production quotas. Diversion is down.
“That’s because of the incredible work we’ve done of tackling this from a supply, demand and education aspect.”
Morrisey says his experience in protecting West Virginia jobs is a central issue of the campaign.
“Only one candidate has had success taking on the federal government and special interests,” he said. “We’ve saved thousands of jobs with work we’ve done to enforce the rule of law. My opponent would allow us to get run over.
“There’s a huge difference in experience between our campaign and my opponent during a critical time when we need someone reliable who will protect the public and uphold the rule of law. We have a proven record of accomplishment. He refuses to stand with President Trump, while I work closely with President Trump. We don’t need someone who is going to sue President Trump at every turn.”
The unfinished business and the COVID-19 pandemic are reasons Morrisey said he decided to seek a third term after previously saying he only would occupy the job for eight years.
“There’s more work that needs to be done,” Morrisey said. “In this post-COVID environment, we desperately need someone with experience. Turning this office over to an incredibly inexperienced person is repugnant to people of West Virginia. Now isn’t the time to place this in the hands of a junior radical.
“I’ve been appreciative of the strong support I’ve received over the years, and people have asked us to step and run for another term. I’m grateful for that support.”
The general election is November 3.