CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The name of Kanawha County Delegate Suzette Raines is now coming up as a possible 2014 candidate for Congress in West Virginia’s Second District.
Raines (R-Kanawha, 35) is in her first term in the state House of Delegates. Back in May, she announced her plans to run for a seat in the 17th state Senatorial District, representing Kanawha County, in 2014.
But Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said Raines may now have her sights set on the U.S. House of Representatives. “I think the odds are pretty heavy that she will (run for Congress),” said Jones on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline.
He said, if she runs, Raines has his endorsement. “I’m very fond of her and I think she would be a good candidate for Congress and I think it (her candidacy) would be good to help with the future of our state.”
Raines has made no announcement about a possible Congressional run. If she decides to launch a Congressional campaign, she would enter an already crowded Republican field.
The Republicans who have filed pre-candidacy papers in the Second District include former House member Larry Faircloth from Martinsburg, former Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney from Falling Waters, Jim Moss from Hurricane and Robert Lawrence Fluharty from Charles Town.
Charlotte Lane, a past member of the International Trade Commission, is working to raise money for her campaign for the Republican nomination.
Democrats Nick Casey, a former state Democratic Party Chair, and Meshea Poore, a Kanawha County delegate, have already launched their U.S. House campaigns.
Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, who currently represents the Second District, is running for the U.S. Senate next year.