Capito leaves W.Va. GOP scrambling

Source: Politico

West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito announced Wednesday that she will not run in a special election for the late Sen. Robert Byrd's Senate seat, depriving Republicans of their top potential recruit for a difficult campaign against Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin, who has already entered the race.

In a statement, Capito emphasized the difficulty - and potential legal peril - of running for the Senate at the same time she was seeking reelection to the House. Though state legislators passed a measure this week allowing Senate candidates to run for other offices simultaneously, the law could be challenged in court.

"There has been enough unnecessary chaos and controversy surrounding the vacancy in the U.S. Senate," she said. "My candidacy would create more uncertainty, invite a legal challenge and misrepresent my priorities as a public servant. The outcome could ultimately place my re-election to the House of Representatives in jeopardy and would leave the final decision in the hands of stat e officials rather than voters."

Capito, the daughter of former West Virginia Gov. Arch Moore, added that even setting aside legal issues, "running for two offices simultaneously is not who I am as a person." Instead, she said, she will run for reelection and serve a full term if she wins in November.




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among GOP movers and shakers, that the Republicans could pick up a seat there in West Virginia this fall.

My guess is that that talk has died down considerably.

Though state legislators passed a measure this week allowing Senate candidates to run for other offices simultaneously, the law could be challenged in court.

I live how repukes just make up laws as needed

She never had a chance against Manchin.

Source: Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia's top Republican prospect ruled out running for the remaining U.S. Senate term of the late Robert C. Byrd on Wednesday, leaving the GOP without an obvious candidate for the seat Democrats hope to keep to retain a slim Senate majority.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito made the announcement a day after popular Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin launched his candidacy. Capito decided not run despite a special election measure that would have allowed her to seek both a sixth U.S. House term and Byrd's seat on the same Nov. 2 general election ballot.

The 56-year-old Capito faces a political novice, Virginia Lynch Graf, as the Democratic nominee in her 18-county district. Manchin, a centrist Democrat now in his second term, is the sole candidate so far in the race for the bulk of what remains of Byrd's term.

The 2nd District Republican said a dual candidacy would "create more uncertainty, invite a legal challenge, and misrepresent my priorities as a public servant. "

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Rep. Capito decides against Senate bid

The Hill

Rep. Shelley Moore Capitio (R-W.Va.), the GOP's best hope of defeating West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) in November's special Senate election, said Wednesday she has decided against getting in the race.

"I looked at this very seriously," Capito said in a radio interview with West Virginia's Metro News. "At the end of the day, it became a decision I had to feel in my own heart and own gut where I could make the biggest difference."

Capito said the Senate is "a place I would like to be someday," but she intends to remain in the House and will run for reelection in the fall.

Despite questions over whether Capito would be able to use the cash in her House campaign account for a Senate run, she said money didn't play into her decision. "I know how to raise the money," she said. "So that wasn't a factor."

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Manchin is pretty much assured of winning.

like Manchin. What an insult to Bryd's legacy.

he knew how important coal is to WV

whether we like it or not; coal is still the major industry here

The coal industry and their political lackeys keep it that way. He had a bad career record but Byrd changed his tune in the last few years, especially on mountaintop removal.