CLARKSBURG – J.B. McCuskey has filed paperwork to run for West Virginia Attorney General.
McCuskey, accompanied by his wife and children, filed the paperwork January 22 at the Secretary of State’s Clarksburg hub.
In doing so, the Republican is the first to file for the position being vacated by AG Patrick Morrisey, who is seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
“It’s a very heavy and humbling thing to sign on that line and to pledge to the people of West Virginia that I am running to be a champion for their interests and not my own; to promise that if elected, I will work tirelessly to defend the freedoms we enjoy and the values that make us who we are,” McCuskey said.
In his last campaign for auditor, McCuskey visited all 55 counties at least three times. His campaign says this resulted in “overwhelming support across the Mountain State” as he won all 55 counties for a second time.
McCuskey says he plans to continue this tradition, having already visited 32 counties twice and 40 counties at least once.
“I plan to approach this campaign as I have each one before – with energy, enthusiasm, and a genuine desire to hear the comments and concerns of the citizens I serve,” McCuskey said. “I chose Clarksburg instead of Charleston to file because my constituents aren’t only in Kanawha County – they are statewide.
“In the coming weeks, you can expect to see us out and about on the trail. From Ceredo to Charles Town, Welch to Weirton, I’ll be meeting with West Virginians to convey my vision for the future and my plan for the AG’s office.”
McCuskey originally planned to wage his own run for governor, but he dropped out of that race in July to focus on the AG position.
“I was surrounded by candidates who were going to have significantly more resources than I did,” the two-term auditor told host Hoppy Kercheval on MetroNews’ Talkline statewide radio program July 24. “My experience as the auditor and in the legal community makes a great fit for me to continue to serve in West Virginia as the attorney general”
Fellow Republican Mike Stuart, a state Senator and former U.S. Attorney, hasn’t officially filed his paperwork to run for AG.
In October, Stuart called out McCuskey for “substantial contributions” from personal injury attorneys to his campaign. Stuart was critical of contributions made to McCuskey’s campaign by “Democrat personal injury attorneys.”
“It’s disgusting,” Stuart said in a press release. “Personal injury lawyers that soaked the people of West Virginia of $142 million in fees for the opioid settlements are now investing heavily in a candidate for attorney general.”
Stuart listed some of the attorneys who donated to McCuskey’s campaign, including Marvin Masters, Stephen Skinner and former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Salango.
“And many more of the wealthiest Democrat ambulance chasers in West Virginia are trying to buy the attorney general’s office ‘lock, stock and barrel’ by giving tens of thousands of dollars to J.B. McCuskey’s attorney general campaign,” Stuart said.
Ryan Weld, another Republican state Senator, also had announced plans to run for AG. But in November, he announced he was going to seek re-election to the state Senate.
