WHEELING — Current West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey touted his record of achievement and adherence to conservative ideals as he brought his 2024 gubernatorial campaign to Wheeling on Wednesday.

He said he wants to focus on “fixing the base problems” the state has, many of which are based on workforce, taxation and educational challenges.

Morrisey’s visit to the Northern Panhandle came just one day after announcing he would seek the office of West Virginia governor in 2024.

Among those on hand for his remarks in Wheeling were West Virginia Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, and delegates Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, and Charles Sheedy, R-Marshall.

“I come here to the Northern Panhandle because the people here have been so warm and open to me over the well,” Morrisey said. “I have been treated very well here.”

He said he sometimes believes people in the panhandles feel “disaffected” by happenings in Charleston.

“And we will make sure we listen to the voice of the Northern Panhandle when I serve the state as your next governor,” Morrisey told the crowd.

After speaking to a partisan crowd at the Bridge Tavern and Grill in North Wheeling, Morrisey was asked his thoughts on Form Energy’s proposed $760 million investment at the former Weirton Steel site in Hancock County. The company is a builder of open-air batteries with plans to create 750 local jobs at the former Weirton Steel site.

The West Virginia Legislature this year approved a $300 million package to support Form Energy’s initiative, even though some lawmakers questioned Form Energy’s supposed ties to Saudi Arabia’s regime and the Chinese government. The company has denied the connections to either country.

“The people of West Virginia welcome new job starts, and that’s because they’re generally a good thing,” Morrisey said. “We suffered through decades of mismanagement in the state, and we know that job starts are so prized in West Virginia. We didn’t have the kinds of announcements that we’re seeing now throughout the state.

“What I would like to do is put more time on facing the base problems,” he added. “Because if you start spending $200 million here and $300 million there without fixing the base problems, that becomes challenging. We have to fix the base tax issues and the regulatory problems and the educational issues, and when you fix those it makes it easier to attract people.”

In the end, if the base issues are addressed, not nearly as much money will have to be spent toward attracting new businesses to West Virginia such as Form Energy, according to Morrisey.

“That is the approach I’m going to take,” he continued. “We’re going to be a place that competes effectively on job starts, but we have to look at the basics. I commend the efforts to bring in jobs, but we have to get to the fundamentals.”

He said he is looking into reported issues with Form Energy.

“When we bring companies into West Virginia, we have to evaluate if they are consistent with the overall vision of the state, we will look into this,” Morrisey said. “We’ll be in a position to weigh in during the coming months.”

A New Jersey native, Morrisey, 55, moved to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia in 2006 while an attorney for the U.S. Congress in Washington. He said he fell in love with the history there, and has hiked the Appalachian Trail and kayaked in the Shenandoah River.

He was first elected West Virginia attorney general in 2012.

The state’s top law enforcement official also used his visit to Wheeling to voice his strong support for former President Donald Trump, who was indicted in a Manhattan courtroom this week on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

“West Virginia and her elected officials always need to stand up against injustices that occur,” Morrisey said. “I thought what culminated in New York (Tuesday) was a travesty.

“This is no ordinary indictment. This is a political witch-hunt and political prosecution like we’ve never had before.”

He continued that as attorney general, he is sworn to protect all persons equally under the law.

“We need to make sure we all stand up against these outrages that have occurred,” Morrisey said. “I think President Trump was wronged. I stand strongly with President Trump.

“Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent, we should all stand up against that outrage.”

Morrisey told those present he is the only “proven conservative in the race” for governor next year. That GOP primary race already has some notable names in the field, including current Secretary of State Mac Warner, current West Virginia Auditor J.B. McCuskey, Del. Moore Capito, R-Kanawha — the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and son of U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. — and car dealership owner Chris Miller, the son of U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va.

“A true conservative wants to advance freedom, and the rule of law,” Morrisey later explained. “They want to be consistent with the constitution, and they care about the principles and values of the people they serve.

“To me, this race is going to provide an opportunity for the state of West Virginia to have someone (as governor) who not only articulates conservative values, but someone who has actually proven he can take on the big challenges, apply conservative values — and win and win and win.”

He noted that he believes himself to be one who “respects the rule of law and freedom,” and that he will “continue to fight for West Virginia families.”

“There are going to be some wonderful people who come out with different ideas in this race,” Morrisey continued. “But there is one person who has been through all the fights, and has delivered time after time after time. My hope is that people will appreciate that in this campaign.

“West Virginia needs a conservative, a fighter and a winner to get things done. That’s my record.”

Morrisey noted his successful legal fights against the Environmental Protection Agency, and his defeat of former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan as among his achievements as attorney general.

He also noted he was involved with getting West Virginia “the highest per capita opioid settlement in the nation.”

Improvements are still needed in West Virginia in the areas of workforce needs, improving educational attainment, attracting additional population, and growing the economy, Morrisey continued.

“I’m not only up for that challenge, I’m the one leading on all those challenges,” he said. “In the governor’s office, I will bring the full weight and authority of the executive branch behind that effort.”

Morrisey also was asked what he would do as governor to help Ohio County get a second interchange for The Highlands — a project that has been wished for locally for more than a decade.

“I think we have to look closely at all the projects that have been languishing for a long time,” Morrisey said. “One of the things you do is prioritize, and you look at the long list. That’s what I’ll do on infrastructure issues.

“We’ll have to sit down with the Department of Highways, and look closely at all of the projects that have been languishing over a long time — which ones are going forward, and which ones are stalling. We’ll prioritize these, and drive some more progress,” Morrisey said.