Ashton Marra Published

Huckabee: Dems preventing state economy from growing

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Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee made a stop in West Virginia to help energize the state Republican Party during a fundraiser Friday night.

An evening that started with state GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas poking fun at an array of federal indictments coming from Mingo County, all against Democratic leaders, transitioned to focus on what Huckabee called the true message of the Republican party—valuing every life based on inherent worth given by God and not status.

Much of Huckabee’s keynote address at the state GOP’s annual Fall Freedom Dinner had a religious undertone, calling for a spiritual and not political revival within the party.

Huckabee said he believes its time to begin to value and reward hard work, thus building a stronger national financial system and defeating a party who has “had their boots on the neck of West Virginia’s economy,” holding the state back.

He told Republican Party members to stop apologizing for who they are and stand for the dignity and worth of people across the country, spreading a message not of elephants or donkeys, but of value in human life.

Huckabee also touted a strong message of coal, saying God put the natural resource under the feet of West Virginians for the prosperity of future generations.

The dinner is one of the largest fundraiser of the year for the party, this year selling more than 500 tickets and raising about $1 million.

Also speaking at the dinner, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

Huckabee reportedly said at the dinner his is interested in again running for President in 2016. The Republican won the state GOP caucus in 2008, but failed to receive more support nationwide than Arizona Senator John McCain.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Democratic Party hosts their annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Charleston featuring keynote speaker Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is scheduled to honor the career of long-time Senator Jay Rockefeller. The event is sold out.