After representing West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House for 14 years (2001 to 2015), Shelley Moore Capito became the first female elected to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate in 2014. In her historic victory, she won all 55 counties and received over 62% of the vote. Her victory helped Republicans win all three U.S. House seats and for the first time in over 80 years, Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Senator Capito regularly travels the state just like she did her House district. In Washington, she is a fierce advocate for the needs of the Mountain State and fights to improve the lives of West Virginians. In the five short years since she was elected to the Senate, she has been a driving force behind legislation increasing cancer survival rates among children, combating the growing crisis of women’s deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth complications, ending the curse of Alzheimer’s disease, and investing in research to explore innovative treatments and cures for diseases.
As a key member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Capito has helped double West Virginia’s share of federal funding to treat those suffering from opioid addiction and secured investment to bring much-needed jobs to the state’s distressed communities. She is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security where she oversees funding for the entire department including Customs and Boarder Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Coast Guard.
Senator Capito is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee where she is working to ensure that West Virginia coal and gas continue to supply America’s energy. She serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure allowing her to help improve West Virginia’s infrastructure and strengthen regional economic development programs including the Appalachian Regional Commission. From her seat on the Senate Commerce Committee, she has worked to increase broadband access to help small businesses create jobs and students to learn. While Shelley was born and raised in Glen Dale, WV, she resides in Charleston, WV with her husband Charles L. Capito, Jr. The couple have three children and six grandchildren. She holds a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University and a M. Ed. from the University of Virginia.