A closely watched election in West Virginia has been called after a packed field battled it out for months in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has won re-election to hold on to her role as one of the most powerful senators in Washington, D.C.
Despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Capito has been called a RINO for being a close ally to Senate GOP Leader John Thune.
She also came under fire for her stunt during a vote on the Sact Act.
(Update on Save America Act vote)
Capito has faced calls to resign for not helping get the Save America Act passed in the GOP-controlled Senate.
“President Trump has endorsed me because he knows I’ll never stop advocating for West Virginia in the U.S. Senate,” Capito said in a statement to West Virginia Watch.
Capito faced five opponents in the U.S. Senate primary, including incumbent state senator Tom Willis, a Republican from Berkeley.
Willis’ challenge has shown that the state’s GOP is divided this primary cycle, and elected officials have taken sides in the contest.
Capito first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2014 — turning it red — and is the first woman to hold the office in the state.
“Our campaign’s message to West Virginians has been straightforward from the beginning: I’ve never been in a better position to continue delivering for our state through my leadership positions and committee chairmanships, and our people can always count on me to fight for the issues most important to us,” Capito said.
“West Virginians have been clear about their support for working families and small business tax cuts, making every day life more affordable, the need to continue investing in West Virginia energy sources, the importance of improving our state’s infrastructure, and the need to keep our communities safe,” Capito added.
Capito is fourth in the Senate Republican majority leadership and serves as chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
“Every stop I make, I kind of remind everybody the relationship that we’ve had over the years and how I know local issues,” Capito recently told The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
“I think it’s important to remind everybody about the relationship, talk about President Trump’s endorsement and my conservative record, and how I want to go back. Because I’m in a position now where I’m chairman of (a) committee, chairman of subcommittees, and I’m on the leadership team, where I really could be more influential than ever,” Capito added.
“West Virginians have also been clear that they’re tired of the dishonest rhetoric and personal attacks in this year’s primary,” Capito said.
“Our people are hardworking, honest and respectful, and they deserve the same character from those asking for their vote. They will always find that with me as we continue our positive campaign about the successes we have accomplished for West Virginia and the work still ahead of us,” Capito added.
Willis slammed Capito as being a RINO and a “swamp creature” who is not working to help President Trump.
He has a laundry list of reasons why he believes Capito has not voted in the best interests of West Virginia, including her vote to approve funding for the country’s Afghan Refugee Resettlement program.
He also accused her of supporting abortion by approving funding for Planned Parenthood.
He also noted scrutiny over insider trading tied to Capito’s role in the Senate.
Willis continued, “When negotiations were going on for the Big Beautiful Bill, (Capito) negotiated to have her son (Moore Capito) appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, and Trump got her support for the Big Beautiful Bill.”
“It was very frustrating, because some of the senators during that time actually negotiated for things for their state and got some carve-outs from the Big, Beautiful Bill for their states,” Willis said.
