News + Press
News + Press
News + Press
While America Watches WV Poverty on Prime Time, it’s Party Time for Governor Morrisey in D.C.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2026
Charleston, WV — On Sunday night, millions of Americans watched a heartbreaking 60 Minutes report on McDowell County, West Virginia — one of the poorest counties in the United States. Viewers saw families struggling to survive while hauling water from streams because what comes from their taps is unsafe to drink, and where one in three residents rely on SNAP benefits to get by.
The night before, Governor Patrick Morrisey was posting photos of himself in a tuxedo at a White House gala with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance — bragging on social media that “our president really knows how to entertain.”
“The contrast could not have been more stark. McDowell County families explaining how they have to haul water from streams, and our tuxedo clad governor sipping champagne at a fancy party and complementing the entertainment,” said West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin. “That says everything about where his focus is — and where it isn’t.”
The 60 Minutes segment laid bare the reality facing too many communities in Southern West Virginia: deep poverty, failing infrastructure, and families stretched to the breaking point. And yet, instead of acknowledging the painful truth broadcast to the nation, the Governor chose to highlight his seat at a Washington gala.
The timing couldn’t be more telling. As working families already drowning in hardship brace for $187 billion in SNAP cuts and more than $1 trillion in Medicaid slashed under President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” — passed with the enthusiastic support of Senators Capito and Justice and Representatives Miller and Moore — communities like McDowell County will pay the price. In places where food assistance and Medicaid are lifelines, these cuts won’t be felt in Washington; they’ll be felt at kitchen tables across Southern West Virginia.
“West Virginians don’t need to see their governor on a red carpet,” Pushkin said. “They need clean water. They need jobs. They need leadership that shows up in McDowell County with solutions, not selfies.”
The misplaced priorities extend beyond symbolism. While families in southern West Virginia struggle with unsafe drinking water, Majority Leader Pat McGeehan championed a $5 million giveaway of taxpayer dollars from the West Virginia Water Development Authority to an obscure college in Ohio. “West Virginia Republicans have no business giving millions of taxpayer dollars to an out-of-state school while their own citizens can’t get clean drinking water from their faucets,” added Pushkin.
The people of McDowell County deserve more than sympathy from a television audience. They deserve serious investment in clean water infrastructure, economic development, and real opportunity.
“West Virginia should be in the national news for progress,” Pushkin added. “Not for poverty — and certainly not for a governor who seems more interested in impressing Washington than serving the people back home.”
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