July 19, 2024 - As the Republican National Convention heads into its final day in Milwaukee today, Attorney General and GOP nominee for governor Patrick Morrisey said Wednesday that the West Virginia delegation is energized to get out the vote for former President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates down the ballot.

Morrisey, the chairman of the 32-member West Virginia delegation at the RNC, cast all of West Virginia’s delegate votes Monday night for Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021. Delegates heard Wednesday night from U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the GOP nominee for vice president. Vance formally accepted his nomination in his speech.

Speaking by phone Wednesday morning, Morrisey said this week’s convention has been one of the most positive and uplifting conventions he has attended.

“I’ve been to a few conventions, and this has to be one of the more electric conventions that I have been to in my life,” Morrisey said. “It’s simply amazing to feel the energy level on the floor. The people know what’s at stake.”

This year’s Republican National Convention was nearly marked by tragedy as Trump survived an assassination attempt Saturday night at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by Secret Service snipers after he opened fire on Trump from a rooftop 163 yards away, with one bullet taking a chunk out of Trump’s ear before he was pushed to the ground by Secret Service agents. Corey Comperatore, a former chief of a nearby fire department, died on the scene, while two other rally attendees were in stable condition Monday following injuries sustained during the shooting.

Trump has been at the convention since Monday, sporting a bandage on his right ear. Trump will accept his formal nomination as the Republican Party’s nominee for president for a second non-consecutive four-year term in a speech tonight.

“You should have heard the convention erupt when President Trump came in on Monday night and then he came back in last night,” Morrisey said. “I have not spoken to the president since the assassination attempt, but it’s clear that this has had an effect on him and his family.

“I’m looking forward to hearing his speech and I’m really very positive and optimistic about what we’re going to hear because President Trump has an opportunity to not only reinforce all the messages that West Virginians love – energy independence, having a rule of law, the Supreme Court, keeping us out of wars – but he has a chance to unify the country in a way that we haven’t seen before,” Morrisey continued. “I’m really hopeful for that. I’ve been all in on President Trump from the beginning and I’m excited to hear him on Thursday night and what could be an incredible start to the fall campaign.”

This week’s convention has been different from past conventions as the Republican Party shifts from a chamber-of-commerce style party with a foreign policy focus to a more insular party focused on domestic issues and the working class. Sean O’Brien, president of the Teamsters union, was a keynote speaker at the convention earlier this week.

Morrisey said the party’s shift to focusing on the working class is a positive move, especially for blue-collar West Virginia, where the message has resonated.

“The biggest difference has really been the focus on working class people,” Morrisey said. “President Trump has made that his mantra over the past eight years. And I think the American people know that he cares pretty deeply about everyday Americans and ensuring that regardless of the color of your skin or where you live, you’re going to have economic opportunity available for you.”

For Morrisey, that makes Vance’s pick by Trump for vice president the perfect choice. A Marine and Yale graduate, Vance came to prominence for his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” chronicling his family’s Kentucky roots and life in blue collar Ohio. Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. Once a vocal critic of Trump, Vance has changed his stance on the ex-president and supports much of Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

“I think his position, his residence in Ohio, and the deep ties he has to the Appalachian region of our country means great things for West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “Having represented Ohio, he knows the plight of a lot of people in Appalachia. That’s a huge win for West Virginia. So, I’m looking forward to hearing that because once America starts to hear about his story and how much he cares about the working people and the proud people in Appalachia, that’s a big win for our country.”

Morrisey said the 32-member West Virginia delegation is excited to return to the state and begin working to get out the vote for Trump, for his own campaign for governor, as well as other down-ballot GOP races.

“I think that the delegates are taking back some phenomenal experiences, but they’re also ready to go back to West Virginia and work because there’s still things that need to be done,” Morrisey said. “Our work is not over in West Virginia, and they know that.”