State Leaders Endorse Joe Statler for WV House
Morgantown, WV – State legislative leaders endorsed Joe Statler on Friday, October 16, as they rallied more than 100 Statler campaign supporters who gathered to build momentum in advance of the start of early voting and Election Day.
Roger Hanshaw (R – Clay, 33), Speaker of the WV House of Delegates, noted, “the 51st Delegate District is represented by five members. Five percent of the entirety of our state legislature comes from this district. Yet, last year, when Monongalia thought it needed another voice in Charleston, where did it turn? It turned to Joe Statler. I ask you to turn to Joe Statler again. We’ve got to have Joe Statler back.”
Ben Queen (R – Harrison, 48), Chair of the WV House Small Business & Economic Development Committee, shared a personal story about being a new legislator and meeting Joe Statler conveying to the crowd it meant a lot to him that, “Joe had a passion for young people and cared not only for what we thought, but cared for how he voted and how it affected young people and their decision to come here.”
Bill Anderson (R – Wood, 08), Chair of the WV House Energy Committee, lauded Joe Statler’s work ethic. “I drove here from Wood County because I have such high respect for this gentleman. We have two kinds of legislators, in my opinion. We have show horses and we have workhorses. Joe Statler is a workhorse. He quietly comes and advocates on behalf of the people of West Virginia and Monongalia County.”
Eric Householder, (R – Berkeley, 64), Chair of the WV House Finance Committee, asked supporters to work to help correct a past mistake, “in 2018, there was a mistake; a big mistake. The mistake was, we did not return Joe Statler to the House of Delegates. I’m here to help my friend Joe Statler to get him re-elected. It’s been an extreme honor to serve with Joe over the years. Joe’s a hard working candidate, he works hard for West Virginians and I can’t say enough about him.”
Amy Summers (R-Taylor, 49), Majority Leader and Chair of the WV House Rules Committee, noted how she and Joe had enjoyed a great working relationship, “he is here for you, he works for every single one of you, and we desperately need him to help us in the House, to help represent Monongalia County and let your voices be heard.”
Gary Howell, (R – Mineral, 56), Chair of the WV House Government Organization Committee, told the audience how he missed working with Statler on higher education issues. “We need Joe back in Charleston. Right now, there’s nobody down there I can call on if I need help with an issue with West Virginia University, or its’ satellites. We do really need Joe back. He’s a great guy, please send him back.”
Moore Capito (R – Kanawha, 35), Chair of the WV House Enrolled Bills Committee and Vice Chair of Judiciary Committee, shared some of why Joe Statler inspired him, “When I came into the House, Joe had been there for a term. He’s the type of guy I wanted to talk to before a tough vote. Because Joe is not afraid to make a tough vote. Joe always does what’s right for the 51st District. Joe always delivers for the 51st District, and he will do that again.”
Terri Funk Sypolt (R – Preston, 52), Chair of the WV House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, was direct in her plea to attendees, “I’m going to give you three reasons we need to send Joe back to Charleston:
- He cares for the education of our next generation. He served on the Board of Education, he knows the changes we need to make.
- He knows the farming industry, and he’s out there for the farmers.
- We need to replace somebody from the 51st District that debated the born alive bill.”
Paul Espinosa (R – Jefferson, 66), House Majority Whip, said, “if we’ve seen anything through the pandemic, we know how important it is that we’re providing flexibility and quality education at both the public education and higher education levels.”
“Joe was really my big man when I was Chair of the WV House Education Committee. I really leaned on Joe in a couple of key areas:
- As a former member of the Board of Education in Monongalia County, I knew that Joe had great insight into some of those policies we needed to enact to make sure that we’re providing the very best public education for our students.
- The other area where Joe was a tremendous asset was higher education. Obviously, with WVU here in Monongalia County, it was really great to have Joe to help us understand, what are some of the things we can do to make sure our higher education institutions have the flexibility they need in order to serve their students as well as possible.”
Scott Rotruck served as master of ceremonies for the event, hosted by Ben and Jo Statler, who support Statler. Rotruck recognized elected officials, candidates for offices and Statler’s family, notably, Joe Statler’s wife, Louie.
During his spoken remarks, Statler voiced his appreciation for the more than half-dozen state legislative leaders who visited Morgantown to voice their support, as well as his campaign committee, and family members for helping organize the event and push into election day.
“Thanks to all that came out tonight to share this event with me, a big thank you to the Speaker of the House of Delegates Roger Hanshaw and his leadership team who traveled from all corners of the state to support my campaign may God bless all with safe travels home,” said Statler.
Learn more about Joe Statler’s campaign online at statler4house.com or by searching Facebook for “Joe Statler for House of Delegates.”
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Media Contact:
Ethan Moore
304-276-5050
teamstatler@statler4house.com
