During the long period when Republican Shelley Capito held the Second District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, no Democratic challenger could unseat her. But times have changed.
The new GOP Congress member, Alex Mooney of Maryland, is invisible. Few residents in the district — outside of his circle of big donors — have ever met him. He does nothing for West Virginia. He fills a seat that could be held by someone who would advocate for the interests of West Virginians, rather than the interests of national party officials looking to score political wins on the national stage. When the horrible June floods ravaged his district, Mooney left on a taxpayer-funded junket to Egypt.
Therefore, his Democratic opponent, Charleston lawyer Mark Hunt would make a much better representative of the people and deserves support across the district.
Hunt is a native Charlestonian — still living in his boyhood neighborhood. He served 14 years in the Legislature. He’s well known for various Kanawha Valley enterprises.
Hunt holds decent values, such as support for President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which provides medical insurance for around 200,000 West Virginians. In contrast, Republican Mooney wants to abolish it. We have fussed at Hunt in the past about some pro-gun votes and we think he is overly optimistic about the future of coal, but we have no doubt he would dutifully represent his constituents.
The Second District is an elongated region from the Eastern Panhandle to Putnam County. Residents of that vast region deserve representation in Congress. Hunt would be a visible, responsive Congressman, and is the better choice for the seat in the Nov. 8 election.
