Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, announced Wednesday that he would suspend his campaign for attorney general and instead run for re-election to the state Senate.
CHARLESTON – More than seven months after throwing his hat in the ring, state Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld is suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination for West Virginia’s next attorney general. Instead, Weld will seek re-election for a third four-year term to the West Virginia Senate for the 1st District, which includes Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties and part of Marshall County. Weld, R-Brooke, made his formal announcement Wednesday. Speaking by phone Tuesday prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Weld said he is at peace with his decision to remain in the Senate.
“Over the last seven months, I have done a tremendous amount of traveling – both my wife and I – around the state meeting people all over the place,” Weld said. “During that time, I learned a lot about West Virginia, but also learned a lot about myself. And that is what has led me to my decision that next year I’m going to run for re-election to the Senate and not for the Office of Attorney General.”
Weld has served two terms in the state Senate representing the 1st District after first being elected in 2016. His Senate seat is on the ballot in 2024. Weld is the majority whip of the Republican caucus, vice chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Military Committee. Weld also served one term in the House of Delegates. He is married to Alex Weld, the executive director of Generation West Virginia.
“One of the things that I have learned about myself is that I’m at home here in the Northern Panhandle,” Weld said. “I am at home in Wellsburg with Alex and our family here. And most importantly, I have learned that I am not willing to compromise my principles and my beliefs.”
With Weld exiting the attorney general’s race, that leaves State Auditor J.B. McCuskey and state Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, as Republican candidates running to succeed Attorney General Patrick Morrisey as the state’s top legal official. Morrisey is one of several candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor of West Virginia. First elected in 2012, Morrisey is wrapping up his third term. McCuskey, who announced as a Republican candidate for governor earlier this year, said in July he was leaving the governor’s race and entering the attorney general’s race. McCuskey is wrapping up his second term as state auditor. The son of retired state Supreme Court Justice John F. McCuskey, McCuskey is a former two-term member of the House of Delegates representing the 35th District in Kanawha County. He first ran for State Auditor in 2016. Stuart, an attorney with Dinsmore and Shohl, was elected to the state Senate in 2022 to the newly redistricted seventh senatorial district, representing Lincoln, Boone, Logan counties and southern Kanawha County. Previously, Stuart served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2018 to 2021. He was appointed by former president Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Stuart is also a former chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party.
Weld said he enjoyed getting out around the state to campaign and meet voters. But as the race continued on, the focus began to increasingly change to political fundraising.
“People see the very tip of the iceberg of what a campaign like this is about. And that tip of the iceberg is the part that I love the most: being in parades, going to dinners and luncheons, and conversations with everyday West Virginians all over the state,” Weld said.
“This has been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life … But if you continue to run for an office like this, it becomes less about getting to know the voters and more about getting to know donors and trying to connect with donors. And that is just not the type of person that I am.”
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, McCuskey has more than $533,000 in cash-on-hand at the end of the third quarter as of Sept. 30, having raised $797,658 election year-to-date mostly from his time as a pre candidate for governor. McCuskey raised $149,425 between the months of July and September. By comparison, Weld raised $195,292 in election year-to-date contributions with $162,785 in cash-on-hand at the end of the third quarter. Stuart raised $68,259 election year-to-date and has $107,798 in cash-on-hand for the remainder of the calendar year. Stuart has been critical of McCuskey for accepting campaign contributions from prominent trial attorneys in the state. Weld provided no comment regarding Stuart’s accusations or McCuskey’s fundraising. But he said he’s not willing to compromise his personal principles in order to accept funds just to win an election.
A native of Weirton and Wellsburg, Weld is a 1998 graduate of Brooke County High School and a 2003 graduate of Fairmont State University. He earned his law degree from Duquesne University in 2015. His legal career includes serving as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Brooke County. Weld works for the Spilman Thomas and Battle law firm in Wheeling and serves as city attorney for Wellsburg. Weld also is a captain in the United States Air Force Reserves. He received his commission in 2005 and has served on active duty multiple times, including as an intelligence officer with the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan. Weld has been on assignments in Germany and Washington, D.C. Delegate Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, announced in August his intentions to seek Weld’s Senate seat. In a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon, Zatezalo confirmed that Weld had talked to him about running for the 1st District seat again. Zatezalo said he is weighing his options, which could include seeking re-election to his 2nd House District seat.
“The options are there and there are many,” Zatezalo said. If Weld wins re-election to the Senate in 2024, he will likely become the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, succeeding Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, who is seeking the seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals held by Justice John Hutchison, who is retiring.
“I can return to the Senate, I can continue to represent the district that I live in and that I love being from, play a significant role in West Virginia’s future, and be able to contribute to the legislative process as I’ve been doing,” Weld said. “Thanks to every person who has supported my campaign for attorney general. It means more to us than you realize. I look forward to continuing on as a leader in the Senate and help the better West Virginia that was promised to us become a reality.” Steve Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.
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