Glen Dale, W.Va. (WVDN) – U.S. Senate candidate Jeffrey Kessler released the following statement:
“While tonight was not the outcome we hoped for, I want to thank the thousands of West Virginians who supported our campaign, opened their homes, volunteered their time, made contributions, and believed in the vision we offered for the future of our state and country.
I congratulate Rachel Fetty Anderson on their victory and wish them the best moving forward into the general election.
I entered this race because I believed — and still believe — that the challenges facing working families in West Virginia are becoming impossible to ignore. Families are struggling with rising costs, shrinking opportunities, and the growing fear that health care is becoming unaffordable or inaccessible once again.
As Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate, I was proud to help lead the effort to expand Medicaid and provide health care coverage to more than 170,000 West Virginians. I will always believe that affordable health care is not a privilege for the wealthy or well-connected, but a basic responsibility of a decent society.
The stakes of this election could not be higher. West Virginians are living in an economy where prices continue to rise faster than wages, where too many seniors are worried about retirement security, where young families are struggling to buy homes and afford child care, and where working people feel like the system is no longer built for them.
Those challenges remain tomorrow morning regardless of tonight’s result.
That is why I urge West Virginians to stay engaged, stay involved, and support Democratic candidates up and down the ballot who are fighting for affordable health care, stronger public schools, workers’ rights, retirement security, and an economy that puts working families first.
Democracy is bigger than any one candidate or campaign. The fight for fairness, opportunity, and dignity for working people continues, and I remain grateful to have been part of it.
Thank you, and God bless West Virginia.”
