BRIDGEPORT — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Willis criticized Sen. Shelley Moore Capito during an early morning campaign stop at Brickside Bar & Grille in Bridgeport, accusing the longtime incumbent of abandoning conservative values ahead of West Virginia’s Republican primary election.
Willis, a Green Beret and current Republican state senator, is challenging Capito in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate seat. During remarks to supporters, Willis highlighted several votes and policy positions he said demonstrate Capito is “not a reliable conservative vote.”
“She’s abandoned our West Virginia traditional family values and she’s not a reliable conservative vote,” Willis said. “In fact, she has an F rating for conservative voting from CPAC, from FreedomWorks, from Heritage Action.”
Willis criticized Capito over her positions on abortion, gun rights and same-sex marriage. He accused the senator of supporting federal funding for Planned Parenthood and said she “skipped” a vote to prevent transgender athletes from competing in sport of their opposite-biological gender.
On gun rights, Willis criticized Capito’s support for red flag laws, which allow courts to remove firearms from individuals without a warrant.
“We need to stop that in West Virginia and across our country,” Willis said.
Willis also pledged support for border security, opposition to benefits for illegal immigrants and policies aimed at reducing government regulation and lowering costs for West Virginians.
“You can count on me to always defend life, always defend our Second Amendment rights, always defend our religious freedoms,” Willis said.
During the event, Willis shared a story from his military service in Macedonia while serving in the U.S. Army Special Forces. The story centered on crossing a flooded river with an Albanian soldier during a training mission, which Willis used to connect with broader themes of hardship and perseverance.
Willis spoke about personal tragedies, including the loss of his first wife to cancer in 2008 and the death of his son in 2022 following a nine-year battle with cancer.
“When you go through hard times like this, and West Virginia has certainly been through hard times, I believe that God doesn’t waste anything,” Willis said. “Through those hard times, that’s really what forged my character.”
Willis argued that West Virginia is “underperforming” and said stronger leadership is needed to move the state forward.
“We’ve got the best people in the world, but we’ve been underperforming,” Willis said. “Part of doing better is electing wise leaders.”
Willis pointed to his military, business and political experience as qualifications for the U.S. Senate seat and referenced his previous victory over then-Lt. Gov. Craig Blair in a Republican primary race for the State Senate.
The Republican Primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.
