Not surprising- she probably be the next governor when Manchin’s term expires in 2012:
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has decided she will not run to replace Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), three sources familiar with her plans said Tuesday night.
Capito was the favorite on the GOP side, and state legislators gained a concession in a special-election bill passed Monday that would have allowed her to run for both reelection and in the Senate race at the same time.
But, even with that fallback plan, sources tell The Fix that the she has opted not to run. That leaves Gov. Joe Manchin (D), who declared his candidacy Tuesday morning, as an even bigger favorite.
Capito’s campaign could not be reached for comment late Tuesday night. She is slated to be on the radio Wednesday morning with West Virginia political analyst Hoppy Kercheval.
Republicans will now search for another candidate. Self-funding businessman John Raese is one option. Raese, who lost to Byrd in 2006 and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) in the 1980s, has expressed interest in the race and his wealth means that he wouldn’t have to raise funds in such a short window of time.
John Raese sort of runs very couple of years and never wins- I remember campaigning for him back in the 80’s in a run against Rockefeller.
peach flavored shampoo
For as red, redneck, and backwards as WV is stereotyped to be, they elect a startling number of females and Democrats to high positions. Not sure what to make of this.
And can there possibly be a better name than “Hoppy”?
Dork
@peach flavored shampoo: But is Hoppy happy with his Mammy and Pappy?
Kinda fun to watch all these WV politicians suddenly geek out at the idea that ZOMG thearz a Senate seat openz! for the first time in about 89 years.
Luthe
Somewhat related, since the vote hinged on the Senator from WV, the Senate *finally* passed unemployment benefits. I don’t even want to know what Helmet-Hair Nelson extorted from them this time to get his vote.
Harry Kawasaki
Craese Raesist.
He’ll be a Republican token of his own esteem.
merrinc
@Luthe:
Pretty sure Nelson did not vote for it. It was Carte Goodwin, WV’s newest senator who provided the 60th vote.
khead
Me too. Close race. I just hope you didn’t actually vote for him since you (I believe) were too young to vote then. I was too.
I probably could’ve voted though – it was in McDowell Co.
mds
So … Governor Manchin gets the bill he needs to run this November passed, and all that had to be conceded was a loophole tailor-made for Capito, one which she’s not even going to take advantage of. Well played.
TooFunnyToBePresident
Agreed, mds. The only way it made sense at all for a Democratically controlled legislature to pass that rule was if it knew for certain Capito wasn’t going to run. Now Manchin gets the added boost of looking magnanimous. Well played indeed.