The Dominion Post would like to thank Sen. Shelley Moore Capito for her years of service in government, but it’s time for a fresh face. We still love the idea of non-career politicians in public office, but we’ve seen through the Donald Trump and Jim Justice administrations that electing millionaires doesn’t work either. Which is why The Dominion Post endorses Paula Jean Swearengin for U.S. Senate.
Swearengin’s campaign is people-funded — no PAC money, no corporate sponsors. So at the very least we know she’ll go into the Senate beholden to no one but the people of West Virginia. Politics is ultimately a game of strategy, and while it might take her some time to learn the rules, she has the fire and the passion to fight for the Mountain State.
Capito has the advantage of already serving in government; she has laid the groundwork for future plans, but after five years, many of her promises haven’t come to fruition — such as increased broadband access, which is just now making noticeable progress. Swearengin may be starting from scratch, but we like her vision and hope she’s able to create the plans to get us there.
Swearengin’s vision for West Virginia and America involves increased broadband, of course, a diversified economy, Medicare for All and a living wage. Broadband is essential not only to education — as evidenced by the pandemic — but also to our economic growth. Internet access has become essential to modern life, and if we want to attract new business, we need comprehensive broadband.
But Swearengin sees other avenues for our economic growth. She envisions a future where West Virginia is still an energy hub for the country but that moves away from coal and natural gas. “These industries have come in our communities, left us bread crumbs, polluted our water, polluted our air, given our children cancer,” she said, “and they have left and pulled the rug out from under hardworking West Virginians.” Instead, West Virginia’s future lies in renewables: Wind and solar, but also in hydroelectric and geothermal — two energy sources we don’t hear about enough. She also wants to use mountaintop removal sites to grow industrial hemp — repurposing the land into an opportunity to generate revenue.
Swearengin also supports Medicare for All. “There’s a difference between access to insurance and access to health care,” she said. Not everyone with insurance can afford to go to the doctor, and Swearengin wants to move us toward a future where not being able to afford copays and deductibles will no longer be a concern. She also made a point we hadn’t considered: She wants a “just transition” for insurance agency employees so they aren’t left in the lurch. Unlike, she said, what happened to miners when coal mines suddenly closed.
Capito said she wants to increase support and resources for food banks, particularly in food deserts. Swearengin wants a living wage and to address the problems that lead to food deserts and the increased need for food banks.
Swearengin campaigns on “true representation” in Washington, and we believe she can deliver. Swearengin is the daughter and granddaughter of coal miners. A single mom. A grandmother. She is real. She’s the type of everyday person we want to represent us because she is us. And the U.S. Senate needs more people like Paula Jean Swearengin.
