Pro-Miller PAC spends big on anti-Morrisey ad buy
Chris Miller, center, is joined by his wife Cassie and supporters in January as he officially filed for office in Charleston. (File Photo)
CHARLESTON — A political committee linked to Huntington businessman and Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia Chris Miller is dropping more than $1 million to go after Attorney General and fellow GOP candidate for governor Patrick Morrisey after weeks of attacks from pro-Morrisey groups. West Virginia Forward, an independent expenditure committee chaired by Matt F. Miller, Chris Miller’s father and husband of U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., is spending more than $1.4 million on ads opposing Morrisey, according to an independent expenditure report filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State on Tuesday. According to State Code, an independent expenditure is made by a person, a political action committee, a corporation or executive committee that advocates for or against a specific candidate. Independent expenditure committees are not allowed to coordinate with other candidates or committees or can they donate to candidates. No limits are on how much these committees are allowed to receive through campaign contributions, though the committees have additional reporting requirements. According to West Virginia Forward’s most recent quarterly campaign finance report, the committee received $222,500 between October and November of last year and $352,500 in the election year-to-date. The committee had more than $330,000 in cash-on-hand. Its largest donation came from BC Holdings LLC, associated with Bill Cole, a former Senate president and Bluefield businessman. Chris Miller, the first Republican to enter the Republican race for governor at the end of 2021, has begun surging in the most recent polling after spending most of his time in 2023 bouncing between third and fourth along with Secretary of State Mac Warner. According to a poll conducted between March 19 and March 21 by Emerson College Polling and Nexstar Media, 33% of respondents said they would support Morrisey if the primary were held today, with 16% supporting Miller, 14% supporting former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito, 6% supporting Warner and 29% undecided. Chris Miller, who runs the Dutch Miller chain of automotive dealerships and multiple other businesses, has blanketed the state with seven TV ads since Jan. 17. His most recent ad, called “Punch,” focuses on Miller’s hobby as an amateur boxer. “Most politicians have glass jaws; lightweights who talk tough but don’t know how to fight,” Miller said in a voiceover. “I’m not afraid to take a punch like West Virginia has. More importantly, I know how to throw one.” Groups supporting Morrisey for governor have spent big on trying to blunt Miller’s newfound momentum. Club for Growth Action has spent more than $1.4 million since Feb. 6 on TV ads attacking Miller, using complaints against his car dealerships against him and for taking out more than $3 million in forgivable loans through the COVID-19 pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program. Black Bear PAC, a political action committee run by former Morrisey attorney general campaign operative Scott Will, has spent more than $768,000 on independent expenditures against Miller, with some of those payments going to Club for Growth Action. Black Bear paid for a TV ad last month criticizing Miller over past statements supporting the legalization of recreational drugs. Black Bear PAC’s calendar-year 2023 contributions were more than $2.1 million, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, though it still has more than $2.8 million in cash-on-hand for the 2024 primary. Nearly all of the $2.1 million raised in 2023 by Black Bear PAC came from Club for Growth Action. Both the Club for Growth PAC and Black Bear PAC endorsed Morrisey last April for the Republican nomination for governor of West Virginia to succeed the term-limited Gov. Jim Justice, who is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2024. In a press release at the time, both PACs said they had already raised $5 million to support Morrisey with a goal to spend more than $10 million. According to independent expenditure reports filed with the Secretary of State, Black Bear PAC spent $907,337 on behalf of Morrisey in 2023, plus $151,959 as of the end of January. Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.comLocal News
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