Shelley Moore Capito
Encyclopedia
Shelley Moore Capito is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Republican Party
. She was the only Republican in the West Virginia
congressional delegation until the 2010 elections and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia.
The district stretches from the Ohio River
in the west to the Eastern Panhandle, which borders with Virginia
and Maryland
.
. A resident of Charleston, Capito is the daughter of Shelley Riley
and Arch A. Moore, Jr.
, who served three terms as that state's Governor (1969–1977; 1985–1989). She was educated at Duke University
and at the University of Virginia
. She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma
sorority.
.
. She is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership
which supports stem-cell research, Republicans for Choice
, and the Wish List
(Women In the Senate and House), a group of pro-choice
Republican Party (GOP) women. She is the only pro-choice member of West Virginia's House delegation.
Capito is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker
. In 2006, she cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In 2008, she opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").
ran for governor in 2000, Capito won the Republican nomination largely because of her father's legacy. She narrowly defeated millionaire asbestos lawyer Jim Humphreys. She was the first Republican to represent West Virginia in Congress since 1983, as well as the first woman elected to Congress from West Virginia in her own right. She was re-elected in 2002 against Humphreys, in 2004 against former newscaster Erik Wells
, in 2006 against candidate Mike Callaghan
, and in 2008 against former Robert Byrd
state director Anne Barth, all by large margins, becoming the first West Virginia Republican to win reelection to Congress since her father, who represented the 1st district in the state's northern region from 1957 to 1969.
Robert Byrd
in 2006, but opted to run for reelection to her House seat.
.
nominee Lynch Graf, winning all 18 counties of the district for the first time in her career.
During the 2010 election cycle, she was mentioned as a Republican candidate to challenge Joe Manchin
for the vacated United State Senate seat of the late Robert C. Byrd. Capito ultimately decided against a senate bid, pointing out that, even though the West Virginia Legislature
passed a law allowing her to run for both her House seat and the U.S. Senate, "running for two offices simultaneously is not who I am as a person. More importantly, this is not about me, but what is right for the people of West Virginia."
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. She was the only Republican in the West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
congressional delegation until the 2010 elections and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia.
The district stretches from the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in the west to the Eastern Panhandle, which borders with Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Early life, education and career
Capito was born in Glen Dale, West VirginiaGlen Dale, West Virginia
Glen Dale is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,552 at the 2000 census...
. A resident of Charleston, Capito is the daughter of Shelley Riley
Shelley Riley Moore
Shelley Riley Moore is the wife of former Governor of West Virginia Arch A. Moore, Jr. of West Virginia and served as that state's First Lady from 1969 to 1977 and 1985 to 1989. She was born in Miami, Florida, on July 15, 1926. While earning a degree in education at West Virginia University, she...
and Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. was the 28th and 30th Governor of West Virginia from 1969 until 1977 and from 1985 until 1989. He was a Congressman from 1957 until entering the governor's office. He is a member of the United States Republican Party. He ran for reelection in 1988, but was defeated by...
, who served three terms as that state's Governor (1969–1977; 1985–1989). She was educated at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
sorority.
West Virginia House of Delegates
Capito served two terms in the West Virginia House of DelegatesWest Virginia House of Delegates
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.-Historical:-Current:-District organization:...
.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial ServicesUnited States House Committee on Financial ServicesThe United States House Committee on Financial Services is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries...
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer CreditUnited States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer CreditThe U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is a subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services.-Jurisdiction:...
(Chairwoman) - Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
- Committee on Transportation and InfrastructureUnited States House Committee on Transportation and InfrastructureThe U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. John Mica currently chairs the committee.-History:...
- Subcommittee on Highways and TransitUnited States House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and TransitThe House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and Transit is a subcommittee within the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The subcommittee oversees highway, transit, and highway safety programs in the United States, as well as policy governing how highway and transit projects...
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous MaterialsUnited States House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous MaterialsThe Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials is a subcommittee within the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee...
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and EnvironmentUnited States House Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources and EnvironmentThe Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment is a subcommittee within the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over water conservation, pollution control, infrastructure, and hazardous waste cleanup, the civil works programs of the U.S. Army...
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Caucus memberships
Capito is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. She is also a founding member of the Congressional Coal Caucus, as well as a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus.Political positions
Like her father, Capito's voting record has been moderate/centrist; she has a lifetime rating of 69 from the American Conservative UnionAmerican Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
. She is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership
Republican Main Street Partnership
The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of moderate members of the United States Republican Party. They tend away from the dominant social conservatism of many Republicans and towards a moderate fiscal conservatism and limited government to a degree. The group is the rough equivalent of...
which supports stem-cell research, Republicans for Choice
Republicans for Choice
Republicans for Choice, an organization based in the Washington, D.C. area is a political action committee composed of members of the United States Republican Party who support legalized abortion.-History of Republicans for Choice:Republicans for Choice was founded in 1989 by Ann Stone...
, and the Wish List
The Wish List (political organization)
The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-choice Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992. The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. It can be considered a counterpart to another organization:...
(Women In the Senate and House), a group of pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
Republican Party (GOP) women. She is the only pro-choice member of West Virginia's House delegation.
Capito is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
. In 2006, she cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach
Jim Leach
James Albert Smith "Jim" Leach is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. In August 2009, he became Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities ....
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In 2008, she opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").
2000
When 2nd district Congressman Bob WiseBob Wise
Robert Ellsworth "Bob" Wise, Jr. is an American politician. A Democrat, Wise served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from January 2001 to January 2005.-Early life:...
ran for governor in 2000, Capito won the Republican nomination largely because of her father's legacy. She narrowly defeated millionaire asbestos lawyer Jim Humphreys. She was the first Republican to represent West Virginia in Congress since 1983, as well as the first woman elected to Congress from West Virginia in her own right. She was re-elected in 2002 against Humphreys, in 2004 against former newscaster Erik Wells
Erik Wells
Erik Patrick Wells is an American politician and former television news anchor. Wells was born and raised in California but moved to West Virginia in the early 1990s to further his career in journalism...
, in 2006 against candidate Mike Callaghan
Mike Callaghan
Mike Callaghan is a former Assistant United States Attorney and a politician. In 2006, he was the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's Second Congressional District.. He unsuccessfully challenged Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito...
, and in 2008 against former Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
state director Anne Barth, all by large margins, becoming the first West Virginia Republican to win reelection to Congress since her father, who represented the 1st district in the state's northern region from 1957 to 1969.
2006
Capito was mentioned as a possible challenger to SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
in 2006, but opted to run for reelection to her House seat.
2008
Capito won against Democratic nominee Anne Barth, a longtime former aide to U.S. Senator Robert ByrdRobert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
.
2010
Capito defeated her challenger, DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee Lynch Graf, winning all 18 counties of the district for the first time in her career.
During the 2010 election cycle, she was mentioned as a Republican candidate to challenge Joe Manchin
Joe Manchin
Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...
for the vacated United State Senate seat of the late Robert C. Byrd. Capito ultimately decided against a senate bid, pointing out that, even though the West Virginia Legislature
West Virginia Legislature
The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the Legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution following the state's...
passed a law allowing her to run for both her House seat and the U.S. Senate, "running for two offices simultaneously is not who I am as a person. More importantly, this is not about me, but what is right for the people of West Virginia."
External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito official U.S. House site
- Shelley Moore Capito for US. Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...