WHEELING — State Sen. Tom Willis said rebuilding the manufacturing sector will be a key part of his economic agenda as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate, speaking at Historic Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling.
Willis, a Republican from Berkeley County who is running to unseat U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, said the federal government should prioritize policies that encourage companies to establish operations in West Virginia.
Speaking from the site where West Virginia’s constitution was drafted during the Civil War, Willis highlighted the significance of the location and the region’s industrial history.
“We’re here at Historic Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia,” Willis said. “The Constitution of West Virginia was penned here and this is known as the birthplace of our state.”
Willis noted that Wheeling once played a major role in the state’s industrial economy and said restoring that type of economic activity should be a priority for policymakers. According to Willis, government leaders must focus on policies that make the state more attractive to companies considering new facilities or headquarters.
“Key to our economic policy at the federal level and the state level has to be creating a legal and a regulatory framework that brings manufacturing back to West Virginia,” Willis said.
He added that such efforts are essential to creating better economic opportunities for residents.
“We need more good-paying jobs for West Virginia families,” Willis said. “We need manufacturers to choose to come to this side of the river and headquarter here rather than on the other side of the river.”
Willis said the issue is already part of his work in the state Legislature and would remain a priority if elected to Congress.
“As your next U.S. senator, that’s something I’m focused on at the federal level,” Willis said, adding that as a current state senator he is “working on it now in the state Legislature.”
Willis is seeking the Republican nomination in a challenge to Capito, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015.
