Tom Willis Focuses on Manufacturing Jobs During Wheeling Campaign Stop

WHEELING — State Sen. Tom Willis (R) said restoring manufacturing jobs to the Northern Panhandle and across the state would be a top priority if elected to the U.S. Senate, delivering the remarks outside Historic Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling.

Willis, a Republican from Berkeley County who is challenging U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, said federal and state policymakers must focus on creating a regulatory environment that encourages manufacturers to locate in West Virginia.

Standing at the site where the state’s constitution was written during the Civil War, Willis called Wheeling “a historic manufacturing town” and said the state’s economic future depends on bringing industry back.

“The Constitution of West Virginia was penned here and this is known as the birthplace of our state,” Willis said. “It’s an honor to be here in this historic manufacturing town.”

Willis said both federal and state governments should prioritize policies that encourage companies to invest in the state and create stable, well-paying jobs.

“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 argued that restoring the state’s industrial base would help provide more opportunities for families and strengthen local economies.

“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 he is already working toward that goal in the state Senate and would continue pursuing similar policies at the federal level if elected.

“As your next U.S. senator, that’s something I’m focused on at the federal level,” Willis said. “As a current state senator, that’s something I’m working on now in the state legislature.”

Willis is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Capito in the upcoming U.S. Senate race. Capito has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015.