WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Mark Sorsaia, Putnam County's Prosecuting Attorney and gubernatorial hopeful, said he likes his chances in the race for governor, which could happen sooner than expected.

The vacancies left by the late Robert C. Byrd in the U.S. Senate and current Gov. Joe Manchin's intent to fill that seat could leave Sorsaia and the other pre-candidates for the 2012 governor's race making campaign preparations earlier than planned.

"It's theoretically possible that there could be a special election as early as 2011," Sorsaia said.

Sorsaia, a Republican, put together an exploratory committee in January to gauge the feasibility of a run for governor. Since then, he's traveled around the state to talk with potential supporters. He now feels his chances are strong, regardless of when and if a special election occurs.

"I think I could be a good, viable candidate," he said.

If Manchin wins the U.S. Senate seat in November, state Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, will take over as interim governor until the end of the 2012 term. But since the unexpired term is longer than a year, state succession law would require Tomblin to call a special election before then.

If Tomblin cannot persuade lawmakers to hold off a special election until 2012, then Sorsaia and the other pre-candidates could soon be entering campaign crunch-time.

"I'm prepared," Sorsaia said. "It wasn't the plan, but I'm assuming it could be the plan."

Sorsaia said his three main issues running up to the election are coal, education and limiting big government.

Sorsaia said mining coal is still a lucrative practice despite scrutiny from the Obama administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"I think there is, quite frankly, a campaign to kill the coal industry in America and force America away from coal," he said.

Sorsaia also supports mountaintop removal mining, but with the stipulation that its feasibility for a community should be examined on a case-by-case basis. Federal meddling from Washington politicians should not play a role in the practices of the West Virginia coal industry, he said.

"This is a case for West Virginia," he said. "I don't think Washington should be involved in it."

Sorsaia said limiting state government by cutting inefficient government programs and the jobs along with them, while politically painful, are the best ways to save money. Sorsaia also supports lowering taxes to attract more business to the state.

"I think government is just by its nature inefficient," Sorsaia said. "The smaller a government is the more efficient it is."

With education, Sorsaia hopes to make state colleges and technical schools more accessible by controlling tuition.

Sorsaia hopes to bring a more up-front attitude to the governorship, one that eliminated decision-making based on political considerations rather than what is best for West Virginians.

Sorsaia said he adopted a similar attitude during his long stint as Putnam's chief prosecutor, and hopes to transfer that to the role of governor.

"Once you get elected, that's when the politics are supposed to stop," he said. "That's when you focus on what's best for West Virginia."

Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.