The 2010 congressional elections in West Virginia were held on November 2, 2010 to determine who would represent the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the

112th Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...

from January 2011 until January 2013. West Virginia has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

. Its 2009-2010 congressional delegation consisted of two Democrats and one

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, though following the election, its delegation consisted of two Republicans and one Democrat.

Overview

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia by district:

District 1

This conservative"Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. . district, rooted in the northern counties of West Virginia, has been represented by moderate Democrat

Alan Mollohan Alan Bowlby Mollohan (born May 14, 1943) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. The district encompasses the northern part of ...

since he was first elected to replace his father,

Bob Mollohan Robert Homer Mollohan (September 18, 1909 – August 3, 1999) was an American politician who served member of the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1957 and again from 1969 to 1983. A Democrat from West Virginia, Mollohan was ...

, in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

. Running for a fifteenth term, Mollohan faced a serious challenge in the Democratic primary from

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Mike Oliverio Michael Angelo Oliverio II (born August 6, 1963) is a former State Senator for the 13th district and the 2010 Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative for . He previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Oliverio ran for his ...

, who attacked the Congressman for his ethical violations. Ultimately, Congressman Mollohan was defeated by Oliverio, taking around 44% of the vote to Oliverio's 56%. In the general election, Oliverio, the Democratic nominee, faced

David McKinley David Bennett McKinley (born March 28, 1947) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, McKinley was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from ...

, the Republican nominee and a former member of the

West 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. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

. McKinley and Oliverio traded barbs, with McKinley accusing his Democratic opponent of supporting the agenda of

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

—to which Oliverio responded: "I am not going to Washington to get in touch with the Washington leadership. I'm going to Washington to get the national leadership in step with the people of West Virginia." In the end, Oliverio narrowly lost the election, despite Joe Manchin's victory in the special election.

District 2

This conservative district, which stretches from metro Charleston in western West Virginia to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

in the eastern region of the state, has been represented by Republican Congresswoman

Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the junior United States senator from West Virginia since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Capito served as the U.S. rep ...

since 2001. Although Moore Capito faced serious challenges to her re-election in 2006 and 2008, she was not seen as vulnerable this year. The Congresswoman faced Democratic nominee Virginia Lynch Graf and Constitution Party candidate Phil Hudok in the general election, whom she was able to defeat in an overwhelming landslide to win a sixth term in Congress.

District 3

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Nick Rahall Nicholas Joseph Rahall II (born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States Hous ...

had represented this conservative-leaning district, based in the southern portion of the state, since he was initially elected in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Rahall had not faced many serious challenges since he was first elected, but experienced a serious one from

Spike Maynard Elliott E. "Spike" Maynard (December 8, 1942 – May 1, 2014) was an American lawyer and former judge from West Virginia. In 1996 he was elected as a Democrat to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. A judge of West Virginia's 30th Judi ...

, a former Democrat and a defeated former member of the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 ...

. In the general election, Maynard claimed that Rahall had received "money from a convicted terrorist," although Republican candidates such as George W. Bush also received money from the same individual; Rahall donated the contribution to charity. In the end, Maynard was unable to combat the popularity that Rahall had built in his thirty-four year congressional career and Rahall won an eighteenth term in Congress.

References

External links

Elections
at the ''West Virginia Secretary of State''
U.S. Congress Candidates for West Virginia
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

West Virginia U.S. House
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in West Virginia
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

2010 West Virginia General Election
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
House - West Virginia
from the ''

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:United States House Of Representatives Elections In West Virginia, 2010

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010 West Virginia elections