Republican Primary Looms for Capito’s Seat | The Field

Several Republicans are looking at running for Capito's House seat. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The GOP field for the 2nd District has become a potentially crowded one since Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced her bid for Senate last year.

Several Mountain State Republicans are giving her seat a serious look, according to a handful of state and national operatives.

Here’s a look at some of Capito’s potential successors: Full story

Rahall Forgoes Senate Run #WVsen

(Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democratic Rep. Nick J. Rahall II will not run for Senate next year and plans to seek re-election to West Virginia’s 3rd District instead, a Democratic strategist confirmed Tuesday evening.

His decision means that Democrats will continue to search for a top candidate to run for retiring Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s seat.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, announced her candidacy for Senate last year. She got off to a big head start in fundraising in the first quarter as well.

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West Virginia: Club for Growth Invites Capito Challenger to Meet

The Club for Growth has not met with Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s new GOP opponent for Senate yet, but it’s definitely interested in getting to know him better.

Chris Chocola, president of the deep-pocketed conservative group, reached out to former state Del. Pat McGeehan over Twitter on Tuesday — just hours after he announced that he’s challenging Capito, the heavy GOP favorite in the race and a club target:

.@mcgeehan4wv you should come in and interview with us. #WVSen

— Chris Chocola (@ChrisChocola) April 9, 2013

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West Virginia: Capito Raises $915,000 for Senate Bid

Capito is running for Senate in West Virginia. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has kicked off her Senate campaign with strong fundraising, bringing in $915,000 in her first full quarter as a statewide candidate.

Capito will report having $2.35 million in cash on hand, according to her consultant John Brabender.

Capito is running to replace Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who will retire in 2014. The Mountain State’s open-seat race  is expected to be one of this cycle’s most targeted. Senate Republicans must net six seats to win the majority in 2014.

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West Virginia: Mooney Says ‘No Final Decisions’ Made on House Race

Former Maryland GOP Chairman Alex Mooney confirmed to CQ Roll Call on Tuesday that he has moved to West Virginia but cautioned “no final decisions have been made” on a future run for office.

“Now I am working on a book about door to door campaigning and politics, which will take at least a couple months,” Mooney said in an email, chalking up his delayed response to overseas travel.

On Monday, multiple sources said Mooney had conversations this weekend about running for the open 2nd District seat in West Virginia. Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito is leaving that seat to run for Senate in 2014.

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West Virginia: Ex-Maryland GOP Chairman Alex Mooney Eyes Capito Seat

Mooney expressed interest in Capito's (above) seat. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former Maryland GOP Chairman Alex Mooney has moved to West Virginia and is considering a run for the open 2nd District, according to a high-ranking state party official.

West Virginia GOP National Committeeman Kris Warner confirmed to CQ Roll Call that Mooney had his eye is on the seat held by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who is running for Senate in 2014.

“That was something he was considering doing right now,” Warner said, confirming a Friday report in Red Maryland, a conservative blog. “He told me he had purchased property in West Virginia.”

Warner described Friday evening conversations at a party reception in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. The state GOP’s executive committee held a meeting over the weekend in the eastern West Virginia town not far from the Maryland border. Full story

West Virginia: Goodwin Forgoes Senate Bid in 2014

Goodwin will not run for Senate in 2014. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former Sen. Carte P. Goodwin will not run for Senate, citing his family as the reason in a West Virginia MetroNews report.

His decision ensures Democrats must continue their search for a candidate to run in this competitive Senate race in 2014.

Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s retirement paved the way for an open-seat race in West Virginia this cycle. Both parties expect a competitive race, and CQ Roll Call rates it as a Tossup.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, declared her candidacy for the Senate seat last year. Polling shows she’s a strong contender — possibly the front-runner, depending on which Democrat wins the nomination.

Democrats considering runs include businessman Ralph Baxter, state Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Robin Davis, Rep. Nick J. Rahall II and Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.

In 2010, Goodwin was appointed to the Senate as a caretaker for the seat after the death of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

West Virginia: New GOP Poll Shows Capito in Strong Position

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito begins the race to replace retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in an extremely strong position, according to an automated poll conducted by the new GOP polling firm Harper Polling.

The poll tested both parties’ primary fields and theoretical general-election matchups. What is clear from this early read is that Capito is well-known and, at least for now, is well-liked.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Nick J. Rahall II led the field of potential candidates and appears to be the strongest general-election nominee against Capito. In a general-election test, 50 percent of respondents said they would support Capito, while 32 percent said they backed Rahall. Eighteen percent were undecided.

The numbers slide for Democrats when Capito is matched up against former Sen. Carte P. Goodwin and state Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Robin Davis, neither of whom is very well-known statewide. Capito took 53 percent to Goodwin’s 19 percent. Twenty-eight percent were undecided in that matchup. Against Davis, Capito took 51 percent and Davis had  24 percent. Twenty-five percent were undecided in that pairing. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, another possible Democratic contender, was not included in the survey. Tennant ran for governor in 2011, but she placed a disappointing third in the Democratic primary.

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West Virginia: Caperton Says He Is Not Interested in Senate Seat

Former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton indicated Monday that he would not run for Senate next year in an interview with the local radio outlet MetroNews.

“I think I had a great eight years as governor, and I think that’s probably where my political career began and will probably end,” the 72-year-old Democrat said. Caperton served as governor from 1989 to 1997.

The list of candidates interested has been steadily expanding since Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced his retirement on Jan. 11. Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito announced her campaign for the seat in late November.

Among the well-known Democrats mulling the race are former Sen. Carte P. Goodwin, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, state Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis and former state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Callaghan.

West Virginia: Democrats Game Out Senate Primary

Sen. Jay Rockefeller is retiring. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In the days after Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced his retirement, Democrats have been gaming out how a primary to replace him might play out.

The list of names circulating is so long it is mind-numbing. On Friday, both CQ Roll Call and The Charleston Gazette threw a number of new contenders into the mix. The Charleston paper wrote that former Gov. Gaston Caperton is “at the top of the list” of Democratic contenders. Whether he runs will influence the rest of the field, according to the paper.

But some Democrats have wondered whether he has been out of politics for too long — he left office in the late 1990s.

Because this is the first real open-seat Senate race in West Virginia since 1984, it should be expected that so many names have surfaced. But just because names are floating around does not mean they will make it to the ballot, especially when it comes to Democratic Senate primaries. Last cycle, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee made its candidate preferences known in several states and there were very few, if any, competitive Democratic Senate primaries.

So far, Mountain State operatives say the DSCC has not sent any signals.

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West Virginia: Democrats Begin Positioning to Run for Rockefeller’s Seat

Rahall is among the Democrats expected to consider running for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 8:15 p.m. | Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s retirement announcement Friday formally kicked off a scramble among West Virginia Democrats, some of whom have been pining to run for an open Senate seat for decades.

Rockefeller thanked his staff and emphasized the progress that has been made on health care in his remarks in Charleston. But West Virginia politicos were absorbed with the future. At least some Democrats said they are relieved that Rockefeller is not running for a sixth term because of his alliance with President Barack Obama, who is very unpopular in the state. Full story

Three Top West Virginia Democrats to Skip Convention

Sen. Joe Manchin won't be attending the Democratic National Convention later this summer. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Three high-profile Democrats from West Virginia are not planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in September.

Sen. Joe Manchin, Rep. Nick Rahall and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin have opted not to go to the convention in Charlotte, according to a West Virginia Democratic Party press release.

President Barack Obama is not popular in the state, and in 2010, Manchin ran a TV ad openly attacking the administration on cap-and-trade. Manchin, who is on the ballot again in November and does not face a difficult race, had already said this spring he wasn’t sure he would vote for Obama’s re-election.

In the state’s May 8 Democratic presidential primary, a federal inmate took more than 40 percent of the vote and won 10 counties over the president. In the 2008 Democratic primary, Obama lost to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton by a 40-point margin in West Virginia.

The state’s other Democratic federal elected official, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, does plan to attend the convention.