Congressman David McKinley (R-1st District) announced his intentions Monday to run for re-election. McKinley had considered a run for governor.
McKinley maintains the state Republican Party was not involved in his decision to stay in Washington. Instead, the Congressman said he and his wife decided to put aside “personal aspirations” and fight for West Virginians who have lost their jobs in the mining industry. He explained his reasoning in an open letter to the Wheeling Post-Intelligencer this week: “There comes a time to put aside our personal aspirations, to double down a resistance to the policies in Washington that are ill-conceived and destructive to our nation's economy,” McKinley wrote. “The war on coal that led to this recent loss of 2,268 coal mining jobs didn't originate in Charleston; no, it came from the White House. That's where the fight is and that's where I could serve best.
“The tragic loss of 2,268 coal mining jobs made that clear to me. The struggle to save our nation takes place every day in Washington. President Obama's term is for another year and a half. He can still do irreparable harm to our struggling economy and especially our fossil fuel industries. What havoc he has wrought on coal is merely a prelude to his next target: Natural gas.
“President William McKinley once said, ‘Duty determines destiny.’ My duty is to protect West Virginia families from being further victimized by the Obama Administration and the EPA.
“It is time for me to focus on the work ahead of us in Congress. These 2,268 coal mining families need an experienced, tested voice in Washington. Someone not afraid to step away from party affiliation, to stand up to the bullying tactics of an administration which can't grasp the harm its regulations are having on families and businesses.
“Our country must never be allowed to turn its back on our coal industry.
“These 2,268 families deserve better. America deserves better.
“These are casualties of a war on coal and that war on coal didn’t originate in Charleston,” McKinley said. “It came from the White House and that’s why I think I can serve best is back here in Washington as a member of Congress.”