CHARLESTON – Sam Brown Petsonk knew it would be an uphill battle.
“I think my path to victory was predicated on the premise that President Trump would only win 56 to 58 percent of the vote in West Virginia,” Petsonk said of his loss to incumbent Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in Tuesday’s general election. “If the electorate went that way, I was capable of winning a sufficient amount of support from Trump supporters to defeat Mr. Morrisey.
“But, President Trump maintained his support. And that’s just the way it is.”
Trump actually garnered more support this time around. Trump won 69 percent of the vote in West Virginia. In 2016, he won 68.5 percent of the vote. And, the president earned almost 50,000 votes this time. His vote totals were 538,802 in 2020 and 489,371 in 2016.
Morrisey defeated Petsonk, earning 64 percent of the vote. The vote totals showed Morrisey with 481,092 and Petsonk with 272,808.
The Republican defeated Democatic challenger Sam Brown Petsonk. With all 1,704 statewide precincts counted, Morrisey led with 64 percent of the vote for a victory of more than 208,000 votes.
Petsonk said he exchanged messages with Morrisey late on election night.
“Mr. Morrisey sent me a very gracious message and invited me to work with him, which I am eager to do," Petsonk told The West Virginia Record. "I’m hopeful I can help to do some good practical work to strengthen our economy, build our infrastructure and other things so our state can move forward.”
He also praised Morrisey for running a “clean race without personal attacks.”
“I did the same thing,” Petsonk said. “I never once commented about any personal matters, and he didn’t about me. I’m grateful for that. I hope our politics get away from the personal attacks. They don’t help anyone. And, I think that’s a good lesson from my race.
“I wish them all – from President Trump to Attorney General Morrisey and everyone else who was victorious last night – I wish them the best. I’m hopeful our country is not as fiercely separated by the divisions that present themselves on the ballot.
“I also think my campaign was able to communicate the economic significance of our federal healthcare law in West Virginia. About 15 percent of our economy rises and falls on that federal healthcare law. I hope to work with Mr. Morrisey to address concerns about this law and why it’s so critical.”
For now, Petsonk said he plans to get back to work in his private practice.
“I’d better on it,” he said with a chuckle. “I have a lot of work to do, especially after working so hard on the campaign the last few months. I have always had a very public-oriented law practice, mostly with non-profit legal services but now with my private practice as well.
“I have a lot of work to do, and I’m eager to get back to litigating. Candidly, I have missed it more than I expected over the last few months that I expected I would.”
