Alex Mooney, second from right, stands with his family and supporters after claiming victory Tuesday in the race for West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Mooney defeated Nick Casey.
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — In a tight race that see-sawed back and forth all night long, Alex X. Mooney edged out Nick Casey for West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional district during Tuesday’s election.
“I feel great, humbled and honored,” Mooney said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. “I commend Nick Casey for an honorable campaign. He called and asked me to do my best for West Virginia – and I will.”
Mooney won a plurality of votes with about 47 percent to Casey’s 44 percent.
Also on the ballot for the 2nd district were Libertarian candidate Davey Jones of Martinsburg, who received about 5 percent of the vote, and independent candidate Ed Rabel of Alum Creek, who got about 4 percent of the vote. No Mountain Party candidate filed to run for the 2nd district.
Mooney takes over in the House for seven-term Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, who easily won her race for the U.S. Senate against West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.
Asked what he thought was the difference in the race, Mooney said, “From the day I started my campaign, I made it clear where I stood on the issues and my values and that I would fight for West Virginia. I think voters were ready for someone to fight for West Virginia.”
Mooney moved from his home in Maryland to Charles Town in February 2013. Shortly after the move, he announced his candidacy for the vacant 2nd district seat.
He was a Maryland state senator from that state’s third district, which includes parts of Washington and Frederick counties. He served three four-year terms. He was defeated in 2010.
He also served as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party from 2010 to 2012.
Mooney had filed to run in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in 2012, but withdrew.
Mooney, 43, and his wife, Grace, are the parents of three children: Lucas, 11, Camille, 9, and Gabrielle, who was born Oct. 13.
Casey gathered at his downtown Charleston headquarters as the results came in. After several hours of watching the totals fluctuate between a few hundred and a couple thousand, Casey finally addressed the audience around 10:25 p.m.
“We had a heck of a headwind blowing against us and that headwind was just a little too tough,” he said. “It looks to me like that wind is too hard against us this time.”
Casey thanked his supporters and encouraged them to stay invested in West Virginia.
“Don’t feel like this is a loss. Feel like this is just another opportunity as we face other opportunities as we go forward,” he said.
This was Casey’s first run for elective office. He was chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party from 2004-10.
Casey, 61, lives in Charleston with his wife, Mary. They have two children. A lawyer and certified public accountant, he is the managing partner of the Lewis, Glasser, Casey and Rollins law firm. He was elected treasurer of the American Bar Association in 2013.
All results are unofficial until the votes are canvassed Nov. 10.
However, canvassing in Kanawha County, which is in the 2nd Congressional district, may not be until Nov. 17, so there will be sufficient time for the county to receive overseas military ballots because of the late reprinting of ballots for the 35th House of Delegates district to add Marie Sprouse-McDavid.
If the number of outstanding absentee ballots is not enough to affect the outcome of the race, canvassing will take place Nov. 10.
The 2nd district runs from the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain in Jefferson County to the banks of the Ohio River in Jackson County.