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Mooney, Miller, McKinley win House seats for West Virginia

John Raby | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years AGO
by John Raby
| November 3, 2020 7:03 PM

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican incumbents have swept all three of West Virginia’s seats in the U.S. House.

Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller held off challenges from grassroots Democrats on Tuesday.

For one of West Virginia’s three House members, this likely will be the last race as an incumbent. The state has lost population for seven straight years, and analysts have projected the loss of one congressional seat after the 2020 census.

McKinley won a sixth term, defeating Natalie Cline. McKinley has represented his northern West Virginia district since 2011.

The 73-year-old McKinley has touted his background as a professional engineer and a seventh-generation West Virginian, as well as efforts to help small businesses and rural communities and protect health care for state residents, especially veterans.

According to campaign finance records, McKinley outraised Cline by a 13-to-1 margin.

Cline is a Wheeling resident who works for a Washington, D.C.-based software firm.

Mooney was reelected to a fourth term in his central West Virginia district. He defeated Democrat Cathy Kunkel, an energy policy analyst who ran unopposed in the June Democratic primary.

Mooney is a former Maryland state senator and GOP chairman who moved to West Virginia in 2013. He won a seat in Congress in 2014 when seven-term incumbent Republican Shelley Moore Capito won a U.S. Senate seat.

Campaign finance records show Mooney outraised Kunkel by about a 3-to-1 margin.

The district stretches 300 miles from the Ohio River to the Eastern Panhandle.

Miller earned her second term representing southern West Virginia, holding off a challenge from Hilary Turner.

Miller served in the state House of Delegates for 12 years before winning a seat in Congress in 2018. She is the daughter of the late Ohio Congressman Samuel Devine.

Miller previously won praise from President Donald Trump for her support of the coal industry, while Turner wanted to work to bring clean energy jobs into the economy.

According to campaign finance records, Miller outraised Turner 10-to-1. Turner is a former teacher, health care worker and community organizer.

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