MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Nearly eight years after narrowly failing in his bid to win a seat in Congress, former State Senator Mike Oliverio has filed his candidacy to run for West Virginia State Senate.
“I loved my job as a State Senator,” he said Tuesday on WAJR’s Morgantown AM. “I really enjoyed it, had an opportunity with the support of the voters in Monongalia and Marion County to do it for 16 years. I’ve missed it and would like to return.”
But the former Democratic State Senator and Congressional candidate, who filed his candidacy with the Secretary of State’s Office Tuesday, will run as a Republican.
“I’m still the same person,” he said. “For years, I’ve been referred to as a conservative Democrat. So, it’s not like I’ve changed or am going to be doing necessarily anything different. I’m still going to be advocating for our community.”
While Oliverio says his party affiliation isn’t particularly important in 2018, he added one caveat. He wants to be part of the majority party in Charleston, claiming he can better serve his potential constituents in the majority.
“I knew being involved in leadership, committee meetings, being able to chair committees, being able to do things for your district as a member of the majority party versus how much more difficult that is as a member of the minority party.”
Republicans currently hold a 22-12 advantage in the State Senate. Currently the only Republican filed in the 13th Senatorial District, Oliverio is currently on a collision course with his successor — two-term incumbent Democrat Bob Beach.
“I really don’t go into this with the idea of tearing down Bob Beach,” he said. “I go into this idea of running for office with the idea of building up West Virginia.”
He reiterated his belief that party affiliation is less important to voters than the ability to impact actual change in his district and the state.
“I think that’s the direction the public is going,” he said. “I think they want to be less partisan, non-partisan. However, within our government, there still remain institutions that are partisan. And the State Senate is one of those.”
You can read more about Oliverio’s return to state politics in Hoppy’s Commentary from Tuesday.