BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) — Voters in Beckley had the opportunity Friday to hear from candidates on the ballot for Tuesday’s primary election. Organized by the Raleigh County Chapter of the NAACP, the candidates had five minutes to answer questions from voters after a series of opening statements.

Nine contestants from a range of local and national races were on hand for the event and answered questions on a variety of topics.

“I like hitting them just to see what they actually represent,” Brian Akers said. “You can still hear their soundbites, but they’re usually, you know, ‘pro-life, pro-choice, religious’ that thing. I like to see where they stand on other things, things that concern me.

Friday’s forum offered voters one last chance to see many candidates in person ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Issues ranged from funding Medicare and abortion to public safety and more.

“The question I had for our candidates was what they thought of Narcan training for young people,” said Elaina Hurley.

Hurley said advocating for such training was part of her job as a recovery support specialist – but for all of the participants in attendance on Friday, the opportunity was seen as a real privilege.

“I’m a formerly incarcerated person,” Akers said. “I actually just got my right to vote maybe a month ago.”

“We have to be the change we want to see,” Hurley said. “I’m here to be the change I want to see. I can sit in my chair of convenience and complain about the state of the nation, but until we get involved like we are here today, nothing changes.

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