WHEELING -- West Virginia Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld is seeking the 2024 Republican nomination to be West Virginia's next attorney general.
At an April 10 press conference, Weld (R-Brooke) said he's ready to take over the office as sitting AG Patrick Morrisey has announced his gubernatorial campaign.
“Over the next 12 months, my team and I are going to make it clear that my experiences as an officer in the Air Force, as a prosecuting attorney, and as a legislative leader all make me the most qualified candidate to be this state’s next Attorney General. We are running a campaign that is focused on getting the government out of people’s everyday lives, fighting the drug epidemic ravaging our communities, and protecting our citizens from fraud and abuse. We are putting the freedoms of West Virginians first in this campaign,” Weld said at the Independence Hall press conference in Wheeling.
He said his campaign platform will focus on three principles.
First, he will continue to use the power of the office to fight back against federal overreach and excessive regulations. Second, he will hold accountable those responsible for the opioid and drug crisis that has ravaged our communities and devastated countless families across this state. And finally, he will protect West Virginia’s consumers from fraud and safeguard our seniors from abuse and neglect.
Weld joined the Air Force Reserve in 2005. He spent several years on active duty with the U.S. Intelligence Community and a deployment to Afghanistan.
“When I came home in 2011, I realized that most of the folks I grew up with had been forced to leave in order to find opportunities for themselves and their families," Weld said. "I knew then that I had to do everything I could to turn West Virginia into a place with opportunities for both those who stayed, and those who wanted to come back. That is what motivates me as an elected official."
Now, Weld says he wants to continue to fight for continue West Virginia's recent growth.
“We are growing into a place that is full of new opportunities and growing optimism, and we need an attorney general who understands this change and is ready to fight for this new West Virginia,’ he said. “I firmly believe that my experience has uniquely prepared me to lead the office that will help protect the future that is now within West Virginia’s reach.”
Weld also praised Morrisey's work as AG.
“D.C. is clearly out of touch with the needs and worries of everyday West Virginians," Weld said. "I vow to continue the tremendous work started by Patrick Morrisey against Washington’s overreach and ensure that the progress we have made in the past few years isn’t stopped by bureaucrats and politicians who have never been here.”
No one else has announced plans to run for AG in 2024, but state Senator and former U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart has been mentioned as another possible GOP candidate.
Weld is a 1998 graduate of Brooke High School and a 2003 graduate of Fairmont State University. He obtained his law degree from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University in 2015. He was elected to the House of Delegates in 2014 to represent the 2nd House District and, in 2016, was elected to the state Senate representing the 1st Senatorial District, and was re-elected in 2020.
He began his legal career as an assistant prosecutor at the Brooke County Prosecutor's Office and currently practices law with Spilman Thomas & Battle in its Wheeling office.
In addition to serving as Majority Whip, Weld currently is chairman of the Military Committee, vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee and member of several other Senate committees.
Weld and his wife Alex live in Wellsburg with their three dogs.
