A Daily Mail editorial from the Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Many West Virginia voters might be a little confused about the race for governor.
After all, it seems Republican Bill Cole and Democrat Jim Justice are more alike than they are different.
Both are successful businessmen from Southern West Virginia. Both are job creators. Both decry Obama administration regulations they say hurt the coal industry. Both tout their experience in the business world — Cole as owner of automobile dealerships and Justice as a mine operator and owner of The Greenbrier resort — as reasons voters should support them at the polls.
But only Cole can say he has experience in government. As state Senate president, Cole ushered in change when the Republican Party took the legislative majority for the first time in more than 80 years. Under his leadership, the Legislature passed bills to make the state more business friendly, hence, more likely to put more people to work.
Justice’s experience in the political realm is more limited. His campaign for governor is his first statewide race. And it shows.
While Cole is finishing his freshman term as senator and has that leadership experience to show, Justice wants voters to rely on his folksy charm and business connections. Justice has said over and over that voters should just trust him, and that he has the ability to “knock on boardroom doors” to convince corporations to do business in West Virginia.
West Virginians need a governor who has a plan for the state. Economic development, low workforce participation, the opioid epidemic and fiscal irresponsibility are all issues that keep West Virginia from seeing success.
In just four legislative sessions, two as Senate president, Cole has gained experience and shown political savvy to work with others across the state to find workable solutions to those problems.
He championed labor, legal and regulatory reforms, and fiscal responsibility. Cole has promised to continue fighting on those fronts and others should he become West Virginia’s 36th governor.
We applaud Justice for the good things he’s brought to the state, for his dedication to the community, for getting involved in the political process and for seeking change for West Virginia. Others should do the same.
But Cole’s experience, vision and determination earn him the Daily Mail Opinion page endorsement for governor in the Nov. 8 election.
