2014 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia

Overview

By district

Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia by district:

District 1

Incumbent Republican David McKinley, who had represented the district since 2011, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

While McKinley had expressed some interest in running for Senate, he later declared he would not run. He filed for re-election to his House seat on January 15, 2014.

Candidates

Nominee

• David McKinley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Glen Gainer III, State Auditor

Results

General election

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 2

Mooney:
Casey:
Incumbent Republican Shelley Moore Capito, who had represented the district since 2001, won her seventh term in Congress with almost 70 percent of the vote in 2012. She announced that she would not run for re-election, so that she could run for the United States Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Jay Rockefeller.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Alex Mooney, former chairman of the Maryland Republican Party and former Maryland State Senator

Eliminated in primary

• Robert Fluharty, veteran, investigator and Eastern Panhandle resident
• Steve Harrison, state senator
• Charlotte Lane, former state delegate, former United States International Trade Commissioner and nominee for West Virginia Attorney General in 1996
• Jim Moss, Putnam County resident
• Ken Reed, pharmacy owner from Berkeley Springs
• Ron Walters Jr., son of State Delegate Ron Walters

Declined

• Tim Armstead, Minority Leader of the West Virginia House of Delegates
• Shelley Moore Capito, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for the U.S. Senate)
• Larry Faircloth, former state delegate (running for the state senate)
• Betty Ireland, former Secretary of State of West Virginia
• Patrick Lane, state delegate
• Bill Maloney, businessman and nominee for governor in 2011 and 2012
• Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General of West Virginia
• Eric Nelson, state delegate
• Suzette Raines, state delegate (running for the state senate)
• Charles Trump, attorney

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Nick Casey, former chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party

Eliminated in primary

• Meshea Poore, state delegate

Declined

• Matt Dunn, attorney
• Steven Gower, Weston resident
• Doug Skaff, state delegate
• Herb Snyder, state senator
• Rod Snyder, president of the Young Democrats of America
• Erik Wells, state senator

Results

General election

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 3

Jenkins:
Rahall: Incumbent Democrat Nick Rahall, who had represented the district since 1977, ran for re-election after having considered running for the Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Nick Rahall, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Richard Ojeda, veteran

Results

Republican primary

For the Republicans, State Senator Evan Jenkins, who switched parties in July 2013, ran for the seat against Rahall. On switching parties, Jenkins stated that: "West Virginia is under attack from Barack Obama and a Democratic Party that our parents and grandparents would not recognize." In 2012, West Virginia's 3rd district went for Mitt Romney 66% to 32%.

State Senator Bill Cole, who had considered a run for the seat himself, was Jenkins' campaign chairman.

Candidates

Nominee

• Evan Jenkins, state senator

Declined

• Bill Cole, state senator
• Rick Snuffer, state delegate and nominee for this seat in 2004 & 2012

Results

Jenkins ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

General election

Campaign

Rahall was considered one of the most "endangered" House Democrats by the House Democratic campaign committee.

Jenkins supported the repeal of Obamacare and pledged to replace it.

As of September 18, 2014, the race was rated a "toss up" by both University of Virginia political professor Larry Sabato, of Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report. As of October 2, managing editor Kyle Kondik of Sabato's Crystal Ball said the race was still a toss-up, calling it "Super close, super expensive and super nasty."

A Fox News op-ed opined in October that Jenkins "offers Republicans the most credible nominee the party has had since the mid-'90s. In a race that will see as much advertising by third-party organizations as any House race in the country, the winner will be the candidate who voters believe will do the most to take on President Obama's War on Coal and the EPA."

Through October 6, 2014, 16,340 ads had appeared on broadcast television, the second-highest number of ads of any district in the U.S. By mid-October 2014, it was anticipated that $12.8 million could be spent on ads in the race by Election Day. Rahall outspent Jenkins in the election by a two-to-one ratio.

Time listed a Rahall ad in its article: "Here Are 5 of The Most Dishonest Political Ads of 2014," and The Washington Post ran an article regarding the same Rahall ad entitled: "A sleazy attack puts words in the other candidate's mouth".

Endorsements

Rahall was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund.

The National Right to Life Committee, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and West Virginians for Life, all of which had previously supported Rahall, supported Jenkins in 2014, and the West Virginia Coal Association endorsed Jenkins in September 2014.

Polling

Predictions

Results

Jenkins won the election, defeating incumbent Rahall in November 2014 with 55.3% of the vote to Rahall's 44.7%.

References

References

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2. Haas, Karen L.. (March 9, 2015). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2014". [[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
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33. Davy Jones (L) with 5%, Ed Rabel (I) with 8%
34. [https://www.scribd.com/doc/226283492/Poll-Mooney-Leads-Casey-by-10-Points-in-WV-02 Tarrance Group (R-Mooney)]
35. Davy Jones (L) with 4%, Ed Rabel (I) with 11%
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57. "Charleston Daily Mail – Jenkins receives national pro-life endorsement".
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