ROCK CAVE, WV — While speaking to a group of voters at the biennial SUBA (Southern Upshur County Business Association) Candidates’ Night, Del. Bill Hamilton advocated for his position of raising taxes on West Virginians. Hamilton expressed that legislators refusing to raising taxes and compromise is a major problem in Charleston.
“In Charleston, we have of course our house and senate, and we’ve got a small problem. We’ve got people that do not want to compromise. They don’t know what the word is. They take the stand, ‘Well, I’m not for a fee, or I’m not for a tax,’ and they won’t budge,” Hamilton criticized conservative lawmakers, for their stance on lower taxes. “In Charleston, we’re not democrats and republicans; we’re West Virginians.”
In recent months, Hamilton has been slammed by critics and his incumbent senatorial opponent after voting for over “$1 billion dollars in new and higher taxes.” Hamilton’s willingness to compromise on raising taxes places him in strong contrast to his conservative opponent, Sen. Robert Karnes (R-11).
On Wednesday, Karnes expressed his position on the legislature’s proposed tax hikes.
“West Virginia has suffered under an Old Guard of Liberal Democrats offering tax hike solutions that are proven to fail. And get rich quick schemes that bypass thoughtful consideration in the rush to ‘fix’ something they broke,” Karnes stated.
Campaigning on raising higher taxes is a very unusual strategy in a Republican primary. This is especially usual, when Hamilton needs to carry Upshur County in order have a chance of winning the GOP’s 11th district senatorial nomination. According to the WV Secretary of State’s office, 47.5 percent of Upshur County’s electorate consists of republicans. This figure does not include right-learning independents.
Predominantly, conservative ideologues makeup the mass majority of voters within a Republican primary election. Hamilton’s campaign strategy of raising taxes, could not only cost him the election, but his own home county.