The 2010 congressional elections in West Virginia were held on November 2, 2010, to determine who would represent the state of West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 2011 until January 2013.
West Virginia has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2009-2010 congressional delegation consisted of two Democrats and one Republican, though following the election, its delegation consisted of two Republicans and one Democrat.
Overview
United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2010[1]
This conservative[2] district, rooted in the northern counties of West Virginia, had been represented by moderate Democrat Alan Mollohan since he was first elected to replace his father, Bob Mollohan, in 1982. Although John McCain won the district with 58% of the vote in 2008, Mollohan had run unopposed that same year, highlighting Democratic strength amidst changing coalitions.[3]
Running for a fifteenth term, Mollohan faced a serious challenge in the Democratic primary from State SenatorMike Oliverio. Initially, few saw Oliverio as having a credible chance, owing to his late entry into the race, and his decision to run as a more conservative candidate.[4] However, Mollohan would prove vulnerable on numerous fronts.
For one, he had faced ethics questions for years on whether he had given earmarks to businesses owned by his friends, earning him criticism from Oliverio as "one of the most corrupt congressmen" and a creature of Washington.[5][6] Mollohan also faced criticism for some of his votes in Congress. Votes such as those in favor of the Affordable Care Act, and vacillation before ultimately voting against a cap and trade bill, costing him goodwill with formerly allied interest groups and local newspapers.[6]
Polls from both camps showed different results, and Mollohan raised more money than Oliverio.[7][8] But ultimately, Congressman Mollohan would be defeated by Oliverio, taking around 44% of the vote to Oliverio's 56%, becoming the first House incumbent to lose that cycle.[9] Mollohan attributed his loss, in part, to attacks by Oliverio he referred to as "totally spurious and totally false", but also acknowledged that the environment had turned strongly against incumbents.[10]
In the general election, Oliverio, faced Republican nominee David McKinley, a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and a former chair of the West Virginia Republican Party. McKinley emerged as the establishment favorite against former state senator Sarah Minear, and both spent sizable amounts of their own money on the race.[12][13] Both candidates saw their past voting rcord come under scrutiny, particularly on tax issues.[14] However, a third contender emerged in future West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner. Warner was seen as likely to siphon votes from Minear, though in the last days of the race, he faced scrutiny for allegations that his businesses owed nearly $3 million in taxes.[12] McKinley would emerge the victor by 8 points.[15]
In a year that saw a strong anti-incumbent trend, Oliverio's outsider status was a boon to him, and to some strategists, this made him a stronger candidate than Mollohan would have been.[17] As, Republicans would have preferred to face a bruised Mollohan,[15] an Oliverio campaign was going to prove to be a different challenge for Republicans.[5]
But Oliverio faced serious headwinds, particularly among his party. For one, his refusal to outright back Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House was a sticking point among Democratic leaders, and he would eventually shift away from this rhetoric in the late stages of the campaign.[18][19][20] He also had trouble winning support with traditional Democratic groups such as the United Mine Workers of America and AFL-CIO, who had supported Mollohan and had endorsed every other Democrat running for Congress in the state except Oliverio.[21][22] Former West Virginia Secretary of StateKen Hechler, whom Oliverio had tried to primary in 2004, launched a PAC targeting him, further highlighting how divisive Oliverio was among Democrats.[23]
McKinley, meanwhile, boosted by a strong Republican sentiment, made the race into a referendum against Democratic leaders such as Pelosi and Barack Obama, capitalizing on strong outsider sentiment.[19][24] The campaign between the two was marred by barbs relating to establishment Washington figures. In a debate, McKinley would accuse his Democratic opponent of supporting the agenda of Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama—to which Oliverio responded: "I am not going to Washington to get in touch with the Washington leadership. I'm going to Washington to get the national leadership in step with the people of West Virginia."[24]
Even with a strong national Republican environment, polls in the closing weeks showed a tight race.[19] Fundraising also showed a close but narrow McKinley lead.[25] In the end, Oliverio narrowly lost the election, despite Joe Manchin's concurrent victory in the special election. This would be the first time a Republican would win this district since 1966.
West Virginia's 1st congressional district election, 2010[26]
This conservative[2] district, which stretches from metro Charleston in western West Virginia to the Potomac River in the eastern region of the state, has been represented by Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito since 2001. Although Capito faced serious challenges to her re-election in 2006 and 2008, she was not seen as vulnerable this year, with outlets declaring this a safe Republican race.[27]
During the race, longtime Senator Robert Byrd died, and Capito was seen as the strongest candidate to challenge Joe Manchin in the special election to fill out the remainder of Byrd's term.[28][29] Ultimately, Capito declined to enter the race, choosing to run for re-election.
She faced Democratic nominee Virginia Lynch Graf and Constitution Party candidate Phil Hudok in the general election, whom she was able to defeat in an overwhelming landslide to win a sixth term in Congress.
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall had represented this conservative-leaning[2] district, based in the southern portion of the state since he was initially elected in 1976. Rahall had not faced a serious challenge holding onto the state's most Democratic-leaning district since 1990.[31] However, 2010 would prove to be his toughest fight yet.
In the primary, Rahall faced the threat of a primary from State Rep. Ralph Rodighiero, who ultimately would not challenge him.[32] The only primary challenger he would face was Bruce Barilla, who criticized Rahall's "support" for Barack Obama, and his vote for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[33][34][35] Rahall won the primary with two-thirds of the vote, and Barilla would go on to endorse Rahall's Republican opponent Spike Maynard.[36][37]
Maynard was a former Democrat and a defeated former member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. He had narrowly prevailed in the primary by 433 votes over opponent Marty Gearhart.[39] He had been defeated as a state justice in 2008, due to photos circulating of Maynard and the executive of an energy company Don Blankenship, socializing at a time when Massey, Blankenship's company, had cases before the state's Supreme Court.[40] Rahall would launch ads targeting Maynard and Blankenship's relationship.[41]
Rahall also found himself the subject of negative attacks. One advertisement claimed that Rahall, who is of Lebanese descent, was "good for the Middle East" but "bad for America".[42] Maynard also claimed that Rahall had received "money from a convicted terrorist," although Republican candidates such as George W. Bush also received money from the same individual; Rahall donated the contribution to charity.[43] Despite these attacks, Rahall maintained a significant lead in polls.[44] In the end, Rahall defeated Maynard and won an eighteenth term in Congress.
West Virginia's 3rd congressional district election, 2010[26]
Shelley Wellons Moore Capito is an American politician and retired educator serving in her second term as the junior United States senator from West Virginia, a post she has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Capito served seven terms as the U.S. representative from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2015. The daughter of three-term West Virginia governor Arch Alfred Moore Jr., she is the dean of West Virginia's congressional delegation.
Nicholas Joseph Rahall II is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States House of Representatives from the state of West Virginia.
Alan Bowlby Mollohan is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district from 1983 to 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition.
Donald Leon Blankenship is an American convicted criminal, business executive, and former political candidate. He was chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company in the United States—from 2000 until 2010 when an explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine resulted in the death of 29 workers. He was imprisoned for 1 year for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards.
The 2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd won re-election to a ninth term. He was sworn in on January 3, 2007. However, he died in office on June 28, 2010, before the end of his term. This was Byrd's closest re-election.
Evan Hollin Jenkins is an American politician and judge. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, joining the Court in 2018 and serving as chief justice in 2021. He resigned from the court on February 4, 2022. He served as a U.S. Representative from West Virginia from 2015 to 2018. He is a Republican, having switched his party affiliation from Democratic in 2013.
The 2008 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4. Incumbent Senator Jay Rockefeller won re-election to a fifth term in a landslide, defeating Republican Jay Wolfe by a 27-point margin. Despite this overwhelming win, this remains the last time that a Democrat has won West Virginia's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat. In both of the two subsequent elections for the seat, Republicans have swept every single county.
Margaret Lee Workman is an American lawyer and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Her 1988 election to the Supreme Court made her the first woman elected to statewide office in West Virginia and first female Justice on the Court.
The 2008 congressional elections in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; whoever is elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012.
Michael Angelo Oliverio II is a State Senator for the 13th district and the 2010 Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district. He previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
David Bennett McKinley is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, McKinley was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1980 to 1994, and chaired the West Virginia Republican Party from 1990 to 1994.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the three U.S. representatives from West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 113th Congress from January 2013 until January 2015. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. A Senate election was also held on that date, during which incumbent Joe Manchin won re-election. As of 2023, this is the last time that a Democrat won a U.S. House seat in West Virginia.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 4, 2014, in the middle of President Barack Obama's second term in office. Elections were held for all 435 seats of the House of Representatives, representing the 50 states. Elections were also held for the non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and four of the five territories. The winners of these elections served in the 114th United States Congress, with seats apportioned among the states based on the 2010 United States census.
The 2014 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in West Virginia after elections in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the three U.S. representatives from West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts.
The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was one of ten Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 4, 1986, to determine who would represent the state of West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, with primary elections taking place on May 13. West Virginia had four seats in the House, apportioned according to the 1980 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.
West Virginia held elections on November 4, 2014. Elections to the United States House of Representatives, as well as the House of Delegates and 17 of 34 Senate seats were held. These elections were held concurrently with other elections nationwide. Primary elections were held on May 13, 2014.
West Virginia's 2008 general elections were held on 4 November 2008 with Primary elections being held on 13 May 2008. It saw a landslide Democratic victory across nearly every single office in the state.
↑ A 501tax-exempt; Street, charitable organization 1100 13th; NW; Washington, Suite 800; Dc 20005857-0044. "West Virginia District 01 2010 Race". OpenSecrets. Retrieved July 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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