West Virginia State Senate District 7 candidate surveys, 2022
This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for West Virginia State Senate District 7 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidates and election results
General election
General election for West Virginia State Senate District 7
Mike Stuart defeated incumbent Ron Stollings in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Stuart (R)  | 58.2 | 13,242 |
 | Ron Stollings (D) | 41.8 | 9,526 | |
| Total votes: 22,768 | |||
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Mike Stuart (R)
I believe that American energy independence is critically important for good jobs but also for our national security. President Biden's radical "new greed deal" energy policies are bad for the nation. Cutting American energy while seeking energy resources from despots, tyrants and dictators makes no sense. We need to safely "drill, frack and mine" the energy beneath our feet for good WV jobs and to strengthen our national security.
Parents Matter! For too long, parents have been placed on the sidelines when it comes to education policy in America. Politicians and unelected bureaucrats have played to dominant a role in our children's education . It is important that parents be prioritized in the system. There is nothing more powerful that a motivated student with a committed parent in a classroom with a dedicated teacher. Our goal should be educational attainment- not politics.
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
My mom and dad are young. My mom is barley 17 years older than me and my dad a year more than that. My dad worked the coal mines for more than fifty year. My mom went to vocational school and earned her LPN degree and practices as a nurse for nearly 30 years.
My dad is the type of man that goes to work in the dark and comes home in the dark. He is one of those guys that looks forward to getting home from vacation more than going on vacation. Seven days a week, often 12-15 hours a day, my dad worked the coal fields to provide for my sister and me. No matter how hard it was on my mom and dad, there was always a lot of presents under the Christmas tree and a lot of love in our household.
My mom and dad, despite their crazy work schedules, hardly ever missed a school or sports event. They were always there even when I sat the bench. I always know that I had their unconditional support and love growing up. Although it was hard, they provided me every possible opportunity.
There may never be a book written about my mom and dad but they are both heroes to me. They steeped on my a strong work ethic, good character, and a belief in honesty and faith. My mom and dad are the finest people I know- generous, loving, and just good people.
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
I spent my life with people telling me what I couldn’t do- “you can’t go to college; you can’t grow up the be the Chair of the State Republican Party; you can’t Chair a future President’s statewide campaign; you can’t be an accountant or an attorney or, for goodness sakes, the United States Attorney; you can’t make a difference and you definitely can’t change West Virginia.” Well, I like proving people wrong. I did and am doing all those things. I like the saying, “You are only as big as the dream you dare to live.” I believe our destiny is only limited by the size of our dreams.
I am no longer the United States Attorney but that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to fight for the “good guys” and for a better business climate, better schools and better opportunities for the people of West Virginia. Unfortunately, however, this time I don’t have a President of the United States to nominate me or the United States Senate to confirm me to my post. For me to go to the State Senate, I need the help of those that love West Virginia and its people.
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
I was working in Boston at the time, on State Street, near all the trading windows for the stock exchanges and near the wharf district. I distinctly remember as I was sitting at my desk in my office that my secretary ran down the hallway stating, "A plane has hit the world trade center." I remember thinking that was horrible but I was thinking it was a small Cessna that went off course and crashed. Little did I know at the time that it was a full attack on the nation.
A short time later, the internet and our phone system was having trouble. We soon realized that it was two full-size commercial planes that flew directly int the World Trade towers. We were all evacuated to the streets in Boston. I will never forget the tens of thousands of people on the streets of Boston and the trading windows all turned to the World Trade Centers. We all watched is confusion at the events before our eyes. I will never ever forget the sounds on the streets of Boston when that first tower fell- an immediate rash of screams followed by dead silence and disbelief. Absolute dead cold silence.
When we returned to our office building, all of us joined in the conference rooms to watch events unfold. The second tower fell and then the assault on the Pentagon. It was too much to comprehend. Being in Boston, a place with more than 70 colleges and universities with a large international student population, we were all evacuated from our towers to the streets.
We must never forget. We must never, ever forget. The blessings of liberty are not free from fate or risk. Freedom is not free. The blessings of liberty must be reestablished with each generation. God Bless the United States of America.
Mike Stuart (R)
I spent my life with people telling me what I couldn’t do- “you can’t go to college; you can’t grow up the be the Chair of the State Republican Party; you can’t Chair a future President’s statewide campaign; you can’t be an accountant or an attorney or, for goodness sakes, the United States Attorney; you can’t make a difference and you definitely can’t change West Virginia.” Well, I like proving people wrong. I did and am doing all those things.
My very first real job was flipping burgers at McDonalds. It was a tough but very gratifying job. It gave me a perspective of working hard for minimum wage and it was a tough job.
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
It is important to find the proper balance. A good Governor proposes legislation and works with legislators to enact that legislation often in compromised form. A good Governor also empowers those around him/her and Legislators to initiate and advocate their own policies in the interests of good government.
I think it is important that there be a collegial relationship albeit constructive and honest. As the chief executive, the Governor should have the opportunity to lead the policy making process on behalf of the state and, hopefully, in a constructive manner with elected legislators.
Mike Stuart (R)
West Virginia is the only state in the country to lose population over the past 50 years. There has been a brain drain and a key loss of population across West Virginia.
Additionally, West Virginia's economy is in transition. Once a purely industrial extractive industry economy with chemical and steel production, the state is in the process of transitioning to a more modern economy, one that is diversified to meet the needs of the nation.
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Mike Stuart (R)
Good policy doesn't get made in a vacuum. The best policy is probably that policy not loved or hated by any ideological side. The art of compromise is a lost art. We view compromise in punitive terms. We must appreciate that compromise doesn't mean losing.
Now, as much as I believe it's important to be flexible and to compromise in the process of policymaking, there are instances in which compromise is not advisable or desirable in the policy making process. There is right versus wrong, and on certain issues it is sometimes best to "agree to disagree."
See also
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