Local News

He said repeal of prevailing wage sent a message to construction workers that, “We are not worth what we were being paid.”

Shamblin said he believes measures such as right to work, which he considers anti-union, not only hurt the state, but, ultimately, the Republican Party itself.

“Probably about 60 percent of our union membership are Republicans, and when the Republicans sit there and blast the unions, they’re not realizing they’re blasting their own people,” he said.

While many of the projects Shamblin has worked on in recent years involve natural gas drilling sites, he also supports increasing severance taxes on natural gas, and said he was irritated that legislative leadership would not even consider an increase to fund education and teacher pay.

Shamblin said he believes the booming natural gas industry would hardly notice a small severance tax increase, adding, “When it comes right down to it, this belongs to our state.”

Shamblin faces formidable opposition in the May primary election.

Elkview insurance agent Dean Jeffries bills himself as a “Christian Conservative Republican,” and has endorsements from Armstead and the Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee, which said that, as a small-businessman, Jeffries knows the challenges business owners face in the Mountain State.

“Mr. Jeffries is a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment, right to life, [and] supports limited government and fiscal responsibility,” the endorsement states. “He stood side-by-side to help those who were affected by the 2016 flood.”

Jeffries said the aftermath of the flooding in the Elkview area was one of the reasons he decided to run.

“We’ve watched a lot of people leave since then,” he said. “It’s been kind of an unfortunate opportunity for a lot of people to leave.”

Likewise, he said, it is difficult when his teenage children discuss possibly having to leave the state at some point for job opportunities.

“As a local businessman, as you watch your population decrease, you want to do something about that,” Jeffries said. “I want to do things to bring jobs back to West Virginia.”