Free Republic

It's a new poll, but the numbers are much the same. An automated telephone survey conducted last month found 51 percent of potential West Virginia voters would pick Rep. Shelley Moore Capito over Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in the race for retiring U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller's seat. The poll found 34 percent of potential voters would support Tennant, while 15 percent are not sure who would get their vote. Pennsylvania-based Republican polling firm Harper Polling conducted the survey, which included 640 likely voters. The poll has a 3.9 percent margin of error. In a question directed only to potential...

West Virginia state Sen. Evan Jenkins announced Wednesday that he is switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party and will challenge longtime Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) in 2014. “West Virginia is under attack from Barack Obama and a Democratic Party that our parents and grandparents would not recognize,” Jenkins said. “I am proud to join the Republican Party in fighting Washington’s assault on our state, our freedoms, and our jobs.” Jenkins is the latest in a growing number of Democrats from Southern state legislatures to make the switch — with many of them coming in Louisiana and Mississippi,...

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.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) announced Friday that he will not run for reelection in 2014, giving Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in a state that's grown increasingly red in recent years. “As I approach 50 years of public service in West Virginia, I’ve decided that 2014 will be the right moment for me to find new ways to fight for the causes I believe in and to spend more time with my incredible family," Rockefeller said in a statement. Republicans already have their top recruit in place for the race. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) threw her hat in the...

West Virginia Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito will announce Monday morning that she is running in 2014 for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Jay Rockefeller. Capito has long considered a run for the Senate, and passed on the most recent opportunity following the death of long-time Senator Robert Byrd. She's expected to say, among other things, that the timing is now right for her run. The announcement sets up a potential race between two West Virginia political heavyweights.