The west virginia delegation

congressional officials …

West Virginia has a gender-diverse congressional delegation. In 2024, a critical race may determine who controls the United States Senate in 2025.

Of the four 2022-2023 class members, two are male, and two are female.

One member holds a graduate degree, while none are lawyers, doctorates, or medical doctors.

Only one member graduated from a West Virginia university or college; another member was an elected party official in another state before serving in this congressional delegation.

The average tenure for the delegation currently is only 3.25 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are vital to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, two of the four West Virginia delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on critical matters because they control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022. One of the two United States Senators’ seats is open this season.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Senator Manchin is included since his seat will be a race in 2024. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating West Virginians? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

The vulnerable race that Thomas will be watching in West Virginia in 2024 will be:

• WVS1 - Joe Manchin’s seat (Incumbent D)

the senators

United States Senator joe manchin (d)

Joe Manchin has been a United States Senator since winning a special election in 2010. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2018. Senator Manchin has announced that he is retiring from the Senate at the end of his term. Manchin was speculated to be considering a third-party run at the White House but has since declined to run. A graduate of West Virginia University and a former Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010, the Senator serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Armed Services Committee. He is married and the father of three.

Thomas Take: Not Running for Re-Election in 2024 (Open Seat) - Safe Bet Republican

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United states senator shelly moore capito (R)

West Virginia’s junior senator is serving her second term in the U.S. Senate. Senator Capito holds an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a graduate degree from the University of Virginia.  Capito is a retired educator who served seven terms in the U.S. House before her Senate terms.  The Senator, who is married and the mother of three, serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, and the Rules and Administration Committee.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: A

Website

the representatives