[h=1]GOP’s Mooney wins West Virginia congressional seat[/h] Nov. 04, 2014 @ 10:55 PM
The Herald-Dispatch / 2014
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican Alex Mooney, who moved to West Virginia from Maryland last year, was elected to Congress on Tuesday to represent the 2nd District, allowing Republicans to hold on to the seat vacated by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito.
Mooney fended off accusations of political opportunism and tied his opponent, Democrat Nick Casey, to President Barack Obama, who is deeply unpopular in the state. Casey is a former West Virginia Democratic Party chairman.
Capito vacated the seat after seven terms to run for Senate, which she won.
Mooney said he wants to replace Obama’s health law with free-market changes, such as allowing the sale of health insurance across state lines and expanding health savings accounts.
Obama lost all 55 counties in West Virginia in 2012. As the coal industry spirals downward, many politicians in both parties blame the president’s energy policies. Specifically, many oppose efforts to curb carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. Casey and Mooney both said they would fight those efforts, although Mooney said Casey would be a rubber stamp for Obama’s policies. Casey disputed that notion.
Both said they supported expanding domestic energy production to rely less on international sources. And both said they want to defund various programs within the EPA that affect the state.
For his part, Casey painted Mooney as a political opportunist. While GOP chairman in Maryland, Mooney raised $115,400 for a potential congressional bid. In January 2012, he decided against a congressional run when GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett chose not to retire.
Mooney, who was a state senator in Frederick, Maryland, moved about 25 miles to Charles Town in the eastern panhandle in early 2013 and filed to run for the 2nd District that summer.
Mooney called on Republican allies, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, to campaign for him.
Mooney has said he supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Mooney also signed a “Don’t Fund” pledge that supported passing a budget only if the Affordable Care Act was defunded. The push in Congress led to a government shutdown.
Mooney has also signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s “No New Taxes Pledge.”
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news...-Mooney-wins-West-Virginia-congressional-seat
