For nearly 40 years, I have built my life and my business right here in Ohio County. My record isn’t found in campaign promises, but in the thousands of paychecks I’ve signed, the hundreds of jobs I’ve created and sustained, and the years I’ve spent serving on the Republican Executive Committee and in various local community groups. I am a businessman who believes in West Virginia because I’ve spent decades in the trenches helping to build it. That’s why I am running for the House of Delegates in District 4.
Leadership is a commitment to show up. Whether it’s driving economic growth through advocating for low taxes and less regulation or standing up for conservative values such as protecting women’s sports and private spaces, I have always believed that if you want to see results, you have to be in the fight. I have spent almost four decades proving that I will be there for you.
All too often, slick politicians and newly minted candidates arrive on the scene making promises about what they hope to do. They talk endlessly with platitudes about economic development, but they’ve never actually met a payroll. I have—for decades.
We routinely see candidates who are clearly out of their element and are fundamentally unpreparedto tacklethe important issues that so deeply affect the lives of the people they want to represent. We deserve better than that. We deserve a delegate who doesn’t just talk the talk, but one who has already proven he can walk the walk.
That is why I find the record of my opponent, Derek Ennis, so deeply troubling.
Mr. Ennis is currently traveling across our district asking for your vote. However, public voter records reveal a startling hypocrisy: he hasn’t bothered to cast his own ballot in six years. In fact, he has failed to show up and vote in 11 of the last 14 primary and general elections dating back to 2012.* As an engaged citizen, I find this double standard offensive and appalling—and you should, too.
The sheer nerve it takes to ask for your vote when he’s spent nearly a decade and a half virtually ignoring his own is staggering. It is a level of audacity that shows a complete lack of respect for the office he seeks and the voters he wants to represent.
Voting is sacred. It is the very foundation of our Republic. If a candidate doesn’t even care enough to participate in the democratic process, how can we trust him to show up and fight for us in Charleston? West Virginia faces critical challenges. We need a delegate who is serious, who understands the weight of this immense responsibility, and who has a proven history of getting things done.
I’m your neighbor, and I’ve been right here with you through it all—from the years raising my own kids to now being active in my granddaughters’ lives. You’ll often see me around town, cheering at the ball games and supporting local events because I believe showing up matters, and I’m proud to be part of the fabric that keeps us connected.
My life’s work has been about getting results and being present for Wheeling and Ohio County. I have spent almost 40 years showing up for you, and I am asking for the opportunity to do it again as your delegate. Don’t settle for a candidate who stays home.
My name is Dolph Santorine, and if you send me to Charleston, it is my solemn pledge: I will work hard every day, I will be your advocate and your voice—and I will neverstop fighting for you.
(Paid for by Committee to Elect Dolph)
