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CHARLESTON - U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney may not have been successful in his run for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, but State Treasurer Riley Moore had the lead Tuesday night for the Republican nomination for Mooney's current seat, while U.S. Rep. Carol Miller held off a challenge from a convicted Jan. 6 rioter.
According to unofficial election results Tuesday night, Moore had the lead in the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District with 43.3% of the vote. His nearest GOP competitor, Harrison County resident Joe Earley, had 20.1% as of press time.
Moore is wrapping up his first term as state treasurer, defeating six-term state treasurer John Perdue in 2020. A former member of the House of Delegates representing Jefferson County, Moore announced his campaign for the House in November 2022 after Mooney announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Moore has been endorsed by GOP House leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Moore's grandfather - the late governor Arch Moore Jr. - served 12 years in Congress as a Republican representing counties in the Northern Panhandle. His aunt - U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. - represented the 2nd Congressional District from 2001 to 2015. His cousin, former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito, was also on the ballot Tuesday for the Republican nomination for governor.
Coming in third in the early vote totals was retired West Virginia Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Chris "Mookie" Walker with 14.6%. Berkeley County resident Nate Cain had 12.2% of the vote; and Randolph County native Alexander Gaaserud had 8.7%. Moore will face retired U.S. Navy officer Steven Wendelin in November, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
In the 1st Congressional District, Miller, R-W.Va., easily sailed to a GOP nomination for a fourth term in the House of Representatives with carrying 62.9% of the vote. Derrick Evans, who was briefly a Republican lawmaker before joining hundreds that stormed the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, only had 37.7% of the vote.
Miller – a former state lawmaker and Speaker Pro Tempore – was first elected to the former 3rd Congressional District in 2018, endorsed by former Republican President Donald Trump. She is in her third term in Congress representing the renamed 1st Congressional District covering the southern half of the state. Miller's son, businessman Chris Miller, was also on Tuesday's ballot as a GOP candidate for governor.
Evans, who was elected to the House of Delegates in 2020 to represent Wayne County, resigned after he was arrested for his part in storming the U.S. Capitol Building in 2021 to try to stop the certification of the presidential election for President Joe Biden. Evans later pleaded guilty to a felony for his part in the riot and was sentenced to three months in prison, though Evans has since made Jan. 6 a central part of his campaign.
Miller will face Democratic challenger Jim Umberger of Lewisburg in November.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com