Willis targets Shelley Moore Capito in GOP Senate primary challenge
West Virginia Sen. Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, speaks to members of the Wood County chapter of the Conservative Patriotic Republican Women Thursday at Colombo’s in Parkersburg. Willis is one of six candidates, including incumbent Shelley Moore Capito, in the Republican primary for one of West Virginia’s U.S. Senate seats.
A candidate says he’s beaten a heavily favored incumbent before and will do the same against Shelley Moore Capito for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. State Sen. Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, defeated Craig Blair in the 2024 primary when Blair was president of the Senate. “I have proven I can slay the giants,” Willis, an attorney who served in the Special Forces Green Berets and the West Virginia National Guard, said. Six candidates are running for the Republican nomination. Also running are Janet McNulty of Martinsburg, David Purkey of Fairmont, Alexander Gaaserud of Parkersburg and Bryan McKinney of Inwood. While there are six, the two leading candidates are himself and Capito, Willis said. “Really, this is between Tom Willis and Shelley Moore Capito,” he said. People have become dissatisfied with Capito over her votes that were contrary to traditional conservative West Virginia family values and with the oligarchical presence of her family in West Virginia, Willis said. Her family includes U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-2nd, and Moore Capito, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Willis said. She has voted against a bill to protect traditional marriage, skipped the vote on a bill to keep boys out of girls sports, voted for the funding of Planned Parenthood and welfare for illegal aliens, voted for “red flag” laws that allows for the confiscation of firearms without due process and voted for the Afghan resettlement program, a program that resulted in an Afghani traveling across the country and shooting two West Virginia National Guardsmen, one fatally, in Washington, D.C., Willis said. She has received failing ratings by conservative groups including CPAC, Heritage Action and Freedom Works, Willis said. “I think West Virginians will agree with me that it’s time for a change,” he said. A campaign spokesman issued the following statement: “Sen. Capito has a proven record and West Virginians know her well. Misinformation has been used against the senator before by Democrat opponents and this is more of the same.” Willis was in Parkersburg on Thursday attending a function of the new Wood County chapter of the Conservative Patriotic Republican Women. He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and points out he is the only primary election candidate with military experience. Willis was a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret and joined the West Virginia National Guard in 2000 and has responded to numerous floods across the state. He has been deployed across the world, speaks English, French, Spanish and Russian and is a published author. Willis said the major planks in his campaign include protecting religious freedom, gun ownership and the 2nd Amendment, pro-life laws, securing the borders from illegal immigration, fighting socialism and protecting America from the influences of sharia law, the basis of Islamic rule. It’s taken root in Western Europe, he said. “We need to make sure that doesn’t happen in our country,” Willis said.Local News
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Willis targets Shelley Moore Capito in GOP Senate primary challenge
