RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Several Republican members of the West Virginia Legislature have issued a public letter endorsing State Sen. Rollan Roberts ahead of the May 12 Republican primary election.
In the letter, lawmakers representing Fayette, Raleigh and Wyoming counties outlined their support for Roberts while also highlighting their legislative priorities and concerns about one of his opponents.
“West Virginia’s future is bright; our Republican supermajorities in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate have delivered win after win for the people of our state: an end to abortion, the largest tax cuts in our state’s history for working people, prioritized and uplifted our fossil fuel industries, fought back against the woke Green New Deal agendas coming out of Washington D.C., worked hard to grow our state’s economy, and fought hard for West Virginia’s Conservative Values,” the letter states.
The lawmakers emphasized their commitment to conservative principles, writing, “Faith, Family, Freedom-these principles are what bind us together as a people, and that is what matters most to the patriotic God-fearing people of Southern West Virginia.”
They added that while progress has been made, additional work remains and expressed support for Roberts’ continued service.
“That is why it is imperative that we continue to elect strong conservative voices to our State Legislature like Senator Rollan Roberts. Senator Roberts has a proven record of delivering for the people he represents, responding to his constituents’ needs, and working well with others in Charleston to get things done for this state and for Southern West Virginia in particular,” the letter reads.
The letter also criticizes remarks attributed to one of Roberts’ primary opponents.
“We are incredibly concerned about statements in the news from one of Senator Rollan Roberts’ opponents indicating his dissatisfaction that we as a legislative body have prioritized Conservative Social Issues in our State Legislature,” the lawmakers wrote. They continued, “He called them: ‘the social issues that don’t affect people in the day to day’, he then went to on express that he will not want to continue that focus if he were elected.”
The legislators rejected that view, stating, “We vehemently disagree with the characterization that the importance we have put on Conservative Social Issues is misplaced. These are the very issues that each of us ran on time and time again and were elected on. These are the issues that our people care about, and they want to see action -and we acted! We have done what the people who sent us to Charleston wanted us to do.”
They warned against electing a candidate who they believe does not share those priorities.
“We cannot afford to elect someone to Charleston like Senator Roberts’ primary opponent who displays such disregard for the values that our people hold dear! We cannot afford to elect someone who will attempt to turn back the clock on all of the Conservative progress we have made in the last 15 years!” the letter states.
The lawmakers concluded by urging Republican voters to support Roberts in the primary and to contribute to his campaign.
“Make no mistake: Senator Roberts is the true Conservative in his race. He has the experience, the drive, faith, and the real Conservative Values that Southern West Virgina needs!” they wrote.
The letter is signed by Sen. Brian Helton of the 9th Senatorial District, along with Delegates Eric Brooks, Elliott Pritt, Marshall Clay, Chris Toney and Carl “Bill” Roop.
Roberts is running against Dr. Michael Antolini and Delegate Adam Vance in the Republican primary scheduled for May 12. The 9th District includes Raleigh, Wyoming and part of Fayette counties.
