ANNOUNCING CAMPAIGN – Republican Joe Eddy, right, the retired president and CEO of Eagle Manufacturing, stands with wife, Debbie, while announcing his run for the West Virginia Senate District 1 seat next year. Eddy made the announcement Friday at Wheeling Park’s White Palace. -- Joselyn King

WHEELING — Retired president and CEO of Eagle Manufacturing Joe Eddy wants to take his “quiet leadership” style focused on job creation to Charleston.

Eddy announced Friday he would run as a Republican in 2026 for the West Virginia Senate District 1 seat — setting up a potential contested GOP primary with the current office holder, Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman.

Eddy has been retired from Eagle Manufacturing since 2019, and since that time he has been managing real estate holdings through Heritage Holdings.

He isn’t angered by what he sees in Charleston, but rather he sees a lot of disorder and a lack of mission — specifically in the Senate.

“That is why I decided to run,” Eddy said. “We’re effectively at a crossroads. The decisions made in the next couple of years will either have a positive effect on us in the future, or a very adverse effect.

“Some of the things I saw during the most recent session might take us down the wrong crossroads.”

He was asked what specific happenings in Charleston “made his blood boil.”

“Nothing makes my blood boil. I’m a calm person,” Eddy continued. “I like to think of myself as a problem solver and job saver.

“If you do the right things, the right things will come from that.”

During his announcement, Eddy said his campaign will be based on three pillars — economic revitalization, quality education and workforce development and “health care that works for every West Virginian.”

Eddy was introduced by State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, who first met Eddy in 2004 while campaigning for the House of Delegates.

“I was still in law school, still learning the ropes and didn’t know much about anything,” Weld said. “I was really impressed by him.

“I thought, ‘Why is that guy not running for office?’ And so, here we are today.”

He noted what might be Eddy’s finest quality is his “quiet leadership.”

“That’s the leadership he has brought to every business and every organization he has been a part of,” Weld continued. “He has done so and led humbly from the front. He doesn’t do it for recognition. He doesn’t do it to have a title or a benefit that goes with that title. “He does it for the right reasons, and that is Joe Eddy.

“I firmly believe our purpose in Charleston should be about creating opportunities for those who live here — creating opportunities for jobs and education that will allow West Virginians to stay here and call the Mountain State home.”

Eddy stood with his wife, Debbie, as he made his announcement. The couple resides in Wheeling.

Next year, the Republican primary will be a “closed” one in which only registered Republicans will be able to vote. In past years, non-party voters had been eligible to request a Republican ballot in primary elections.