Shelley Moore Capito
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Shelley Moore Capito
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| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Wise |
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| Born | November 26, 1953 Glen Dale, West Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Charles Lewis |
| Residence | Charleston, West Virginia |
| Alma mater | Duke University, University of Virginia |
| Occupation | Career counselor |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Shelley Moore Capito (born Shelley Wellons Moore on November 26, 1953) is an American politician. She has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the West Virginia's 2nd congressional district (map). The district stretches from the Ohio River in the west to the Eastern Panhandle, which borders with Virginia and Maryland. She is the only Republican in the West Virginia congressional delegation and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia.
Capito was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia. 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 and served two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
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[edit] Election to Congress
When 2nd district Congressman Bob Wise ran for governor in 2000, Capito won the Republican nomination largely because of her father's legacy. She narrowly defeated multi-millionaire trial lawyer Jim Humphreys largely by running ads in the Washington, D.C., media market, which takes in eight of West Virginia's counties, most of which are in the 2nd District. 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 office manager 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.
[edit] Congressional service
In the House, she is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. Like her father, her voting record has been moderate/centrist.[citation needed] 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 one of the three members who oversee the House page program. In early October, 2006 she responded to a subpoena by the House Ethics Committee to give testimony regarding her role in the Mark Foley scandal.[1] She has been critical of any attempts to hide any wrongdoing related to the Mark Foley scandal from her and her fellow committee members, stating "I deeply regret not being made aware of this situation as a member of the Page Board."[2]
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[3], and supported H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[4]. 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").
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial Services
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Shelley Moore Capito profile
- Shelley Moore Capito for US. Congress, Campaign site
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Bob Wise |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district 2001 – present |
Incumbent |
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