CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The attention is now fully focused on the Nov. 4 general election in West Virginia — a quick shift that happened for the nominees immediately after the results were in for West Virginia’s 2014 primary election.
“It is now on to November,” said Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, on Wednesday morning. “We’re going to keep this momentum going and I’m going to win in November.”
The Republican U.S. Senate nominee, though, will have something to say about that in the coming months.
“I have a record that people are going to judge me on and I’m going to fight hard to defend that record and I think it’s a great record for our state,” said Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito who currently represents West Virginia’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The two nominees for the seat she’s held since 2000 are Nick Casey, a former West Virginia Democratic Party chair, and Alex Mooney, a former Maryland Republican Party chair. In a crowded field of seven Republican candidates, Mooney won the nomination with more than 36 percent of the vote followed by Ken Reed, Charlotte Lane and Steve Harrison — in that order.
“He ran a good campaign,” said Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor, of Mooney’s win on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.” “I think that Alex Mooney will make a superior general election candidate than Charlotte Lane would have because you’re going to have this energy. You’re going to have this hustle. You’re going to have this base out.”
The 1st Congressional District race, come November, will be between Congressman David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and state Auditor Glen Gainer. Neither faced competition in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) sounded confident the day after he was renominated to the seat he’s held since 1977. “I have another flip-flopper that’s running against me. I’m not sure which party he will be in by the time the November election rolls around, but I’m grateful to my party for sticking with me,” he said.
State Sen. Evan Jenkins (R-Cabell, 5) — who changed party affiliations last year to challenge Rahall — said his chances are looking good, six months out from the Nov. 4 general election. “Changing to a Republican is fighting for our state, fighting for our jobs and fighting for our future,” he said. “I simply could not be a part of the Rahall-Obama agenda.”
Jenkins has the support of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “This is not personal,” said Steve Roberts, Chamber of Commerce president. “This is really about a change in direction.”
On Thursday, Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-Missouri), a former Republican National Committee co-chair, will attend a fundraising event for Jenkins in Charleston at the Chamber’s headquarters.