CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former state Democratic Party chairman is the party’s nominee for the U.S. House in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. MetroNews is projecting Nick Casey, 60, secured the Democratic nomination in Tuesday’s primary election and will advance to the Nov. 4 general election.
Casey, 60, is a managing partner for Lewis, Glasser, Casey and Rollins in Charleston. In addition to serving as Democratic Party chair, he has worked closely in the past with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on several of his campaigns and has spent time as a lobbyist.
In 2009, late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd recommended Casey for a federal judge’s seat in West Virginia’s Northern District. The seat had been vacant since the 2006 death of U.S. District Judge Craig Broadwater. Casey’s recommendation stalled and another recommendation was later made.
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has represented the 2nd District in Washington, D.C. since 2000 — the first time the seat was open, without an incumbent, since 1945. Democrats want to claim that seat again.
So far, Casey has raised almost $900,000 for his campaign and, coming out of the primary election cycle, still has more than $600,000 on hand. He had faced a primary challenge from Meshea Poore, a Kanawha County delegate and Charleston attorney. She had raised about $50,000 for her campaign.
The massive 2nd District, which stretches from the Potomac River to the Ohio River, is made up of parts of 17 counties – Berkeley, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Hampshire, Hardy, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Morgan, Pendleton, Putnam, Randolph, Roane, Upshur and Wirt.