West Virginia's 1st Congressional District
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West Virginia's 1st congressional district is currently located in the southern half of the state and includes Charleston, Huntington, Bluefield, Beckley, and Lewisburg Responding to the census results, the state legislature adopted a new map for the 2022 elections and the following 10 years. It abandoned the practice used since the formation of the state of starting the numbering in the north, and rather divided the state in a northern and southern district, with the 1st being the more southerly one. The new 1st district contains the counties of Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wirt, and Wyoming. For all intents and purposes, it was the successor to the 3rd district, and its congresswoman, Carol Miller, became the de facto incumbent in this new district. The state's other congressmen, Republicans
David McKinley David Bennett McKinley (born March 28, 1947) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, McKinley was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates f ...
and
Alex Mooney Alexander Xavier Mooney (born June 7, 1971) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2015 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 3rd district in the Maryland State Senate from 1999 to 20 ...
, were both drawn into the new 2nd district. All three ran for re-election. Miller was easily nominated in the Republican primary held May 10, 2022, while former 1st district congressman
David McKinley David Bennett McKinley (born March 28, 1947) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, McKinley was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates f ...
was soundly defeated by 2nd district congressman
Alex Mooney Alexander Xavier Mooney (born June 7, 1971) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2015 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 3rd district in the Maryland State Senate from 1999 to 20 ...
. Both Republicans were easily elected in November. In its previous incarnation, the 1st covered the northern part of the state, and was historically the most regularly drawn district in the state. From 1953 to 2023, it was represented by only four men:
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 s ...
(D) (1953–1957), former
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Arch Moore, Jr. (R) (1957–1969), Bob Mollohan again (1969–1983),
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 t ...
(1983–2011) and McKinley (2011-2023). Despite the lack of turnover in the congressional seat, historically the 1st was not safe for either party. The cities are ancestrally Democratic strongholds, while the rural areas were much more
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and had a tendency to swing Republican more often. As late as 2014, state legislators were roughly split between both parties. For most of the 20th century, the Democratic vote in the cities was enough to keep the district in Democratic hands. However, West Virginia Democrats tend to be somewhat more socially conservative than their counterparts in the rest of the nation, and the district has been swept up in the growing Republican trend in the state at the national level. No Democrat since
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
(who did so by a plurality in a three-way race) has carried the 1st district in presidential elections.
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
carried the district both times in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
with 54% of the vote and
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
with 58% of the vote.
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
carried the district in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
with 56.77% of the vote while
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
received 41.51%.


History

Prior to the 2020 redistricting, the first district had always been anchored in Wheeling, and as such had always included Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel countiesWest Virginia Blue Book, pp. 534 (2012 edition)–the five counties usually reckoned as the Northern Panhandle. The original 1863 districting included also Tyler, Pleasants, Doddridge, Harrison, Ritchie, Wood, Wirt, Gilmer, Calhoun and Lewis counties. It was essentially the successor of
Virginia's 11th congressional district Virginia's 11th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Situated in the Northern Virginia suburbs, the district comprises most of Fairfax County and the entirety of Fairfax City. The district ...
. In 1882, the counties of Tyler, Doddridge, Harrison, Gilmer, Lewis and Braxton were added to the core counties. In 1902, the core counties were joined by Marion, Harrison, and Lewis counties. In the 1916 redistricting it included only the five core counties and Marion and Taylor. The district was unchanged in the 1934 and 1954 redistrictings. In 1962, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Marion and Taylor joined the five core counties. The 1972 redistricting added Tyler, Pleasants, and Woods and deleted Taylor. The 1982 redistricting added Taylor back to the district. For 1992 the district consisted of Barbour, Brooke, Doddridge, Grant, Hancock, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Wetzel and Wood counties. In 2002 Gilmer was added. For the election cycle that began in 2012 the district was unchanged. For the 2020 census, the legislature abandoned the practice of numbering the districts from north to south and the first district was now the more southerly one, consisting of Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wirt, and Wyoming counties.


Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all of the following counties:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST54/CD118_WV01.pdf


Recent election results from statewide races


List of members representing the district


Recent election results


2000s


2010s


2020s


Historical district boundaries


See also

*
West Virginia's congressional districts The U.S. state of West Virginia currently has two congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. Current districts and representatives List of members of the United States House delegation f ...
*
List of United States congressional districts Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats within the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wi ...


References

;Specific ;General * *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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