Shelley Moore Capito

Shelley Moore Capito
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Bob Wise
Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Luis Gutiérrez
Personal details
Born	Shelley Wellons Moore November 26, 1953 (1953-11-26) Glen Dale, West Virginia
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Charles L. Capito
Residence	Charleston, West Virginia
Alma mater	Duke University, University of Virginia
Occupation	Career counselor
Religion	Presbyterian

Shelley Moore Capito (born Shelley Wellons Moore; November 26, 1953) is the U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district, 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.

Early life, education and career

Capito was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia, the daughter of Shelley (née Riley) and Arch Alfred Moore, Jr., who served three terms as that state's Governor (1969–1977; 1985–1989). A resident of Charleston, Capito was educated at Duke University and at the University of Virginia. She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

West Virginia House of Delegates

Capito served two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit (Chairwoman)
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

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 Union. 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").

Political campaigns

2000

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 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.

2006

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2006#District 2

Capito was mentioned as a possible challenger to Senator Robert Byrd in 2006, but opted to run for reelection to her House seat.

2008

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2008#District 2

Capito won against Democratic nominee Anne Barth, a longtime former aide to U.S. Senator Robert Byrd.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2010#District 2

Capito defeated her challenger, Democratic 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."

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito official U.S. House site
• Shelley Moore Capito for US. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Bob Wise	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district 2001–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Eric Cantor R-Virginia	United States Representatives by seniority 167th	Succeeded by William Lacy Clay D-Missouri