Authorities in West Virginia issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, on October 26 for his campaign’s yard signs.
The radiologist-turned-senator failed to specify his academic degree on yard signs. Under West Virginia’s Code 61-10-21, it’s against the law for any individual to use “Dr” or “Doctor” without specifying your degree on any campaign sign, letter, business card, or ad. This led to four counts of misdemeanors for unlawful use, according to reports from the Inter-Mountain newspaper.
However, this is a little-known and seldom-used law. Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office seemed to think so as well, and drops the charges against Moroney two days later.
Maroney was furious, stated the Inter-Mountain. “My opponent and his people have reached an all-time low in West Virginia politics, beneath scum,” they reported Maroney’s response.
Maroney blamed his opponent’s advocates for the incident, according to the report. Democrat and high school teacher Josh Gary’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.