CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County delegate says she is seriously considering a run for Congress in West Virginia’s Second District.
Suzette Raines (R-35, Kanawha) said she will make a decision in the next week.
“I would say there’s a strong chance I’m going to get in and that’s simply because of the support that people have committed, if I do choose to get in,” she said on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Raines 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.
She said her involvement in politics is personal. “I care about West Virginia,” said Raines. “I want to represent as many West Virginians as I can and do the most good for our state and that’s what’s really driven me to do this.”
The Republicans who already 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.
Republican Charlotte Lane, a past member of the International Trade Commission, officially announced her candidacy on Monday and Republican Ron Walters, Junior announced his candidacy on Tuesday.
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.