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U.S. Senate, West Virginia General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Shelley Moore Capito	62.1%	281,820
	Democratic	Natalie Tennant	34.5%	156,360
	Libertarian	John Buckley	1.6%	7,409
	Constitution	Phil Hudok	0.6%	2,566
	Mountain	Bob Henry Baber	1.2%	5,504
	N/A	Write-ins	0%	30
Total Votes				453,689
Source:U.S. House Clerk "2014 Election Statistics"

2014 U.S. Senate Elections in West Virginia

General Election Date November 4, 2014

Primary Date May 13, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Shelley Moore Capito

Incumbent prior to election: Jay Rockefeller

Race Ratings Cook Political Report:Lean R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball:Likely R[2]

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2014 U.S. House Elections

Voters inWest Virginiaelected one member to theU.S. Senate in theelection on November 4, 2014.

RepublicanRep. Shelley Moore Capito, defeatedWest Virginia Secretary of StateNatalie Tennant (D),John Buckley (L),Phil Hudok (C) andBob Henry Baber (MP) in the general election to fillJay Rockefeller'sU.S. Senate seat. Capito is the first woman from West Virginia to serve in the Senate. Capito was also the first Republican woman ever elected to theU.S. House of Representatives fromWest Virginia.^[3]

Primary: Aprimary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. West Virginia state law permits parties to determine for themselves whether to allow previously unaffiliated voters to participate in their primaries along with registered members. As of October 2025, the Democratic Party held asemi-closed primary where unaffiliated voters could participate, and the Republican Party held aclosed primary in which only voters registered with the party could participate.^[4]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.

Voter registration: Tovote in the primary, voters had to register by April 22, 2014. For thegeneral election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014.^[5]

See also:West Virginia elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held byJay Rockefeller (D), who was first elected in 1984. Rockefeller did not run for re-election in 2014.

Candidates

General election candidates

• Shelley Moore Capito -Representative fromDistrict 2a
• Natalie Tennant -West Virginia Secretary of State
• John Buckley
• Phil Hudok
• Bob Henry Baber
• Alex Weinstein - Write-in candidate^[6]

May 13, 2014, primary results

Libertarian Party Convention

• Thomas Coyne^[10][11]
• John Buckleya^[12]

Third Party Candidates

• Phil Hudok^[13]
• Bob Henry Baber^[14]

Withdrew from race

• Martin Staunton^[15][16]
• Zane Lawhorn^[17][18]
• Tami Stainfield^[19][18]

Election results

General election

U.S. Senate, West Virginia General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Shelley Moore Capito	62.1%	281,820
	Democratic	Natalie Tennant	34.5%	156,360
	Libertarian	John Buckley	1.6%	7,409
	Constitution	Phil Hudok	0.6%	2,566
	Mountain	Bob Henry Baber	1.2%	5,504
	N/A	Write-ins	0%	30
Total Votes				453,689
Source:U.S. House Clerk "2014 Election Statistics"

Democratic primary results

Tennant defeatedDennis Melton andDavid Wamsley in theDemocratic primary.^[20]

U.S. Senate, West Virginia Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Natalie Tennant	77.9%	104,598
Dennis Melton	11.8%	15,817
David Wamsley	10.3%	13,773
Total Votes		134,188
Source:West Virginia Secretary of State

Republican primary results

Capito defeatedLarry Butcher andMatthew Dodrill in theRepublican primary.^[20]

U.S. Senate, West Virginia Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shelley Moore Capito	87.5%	74,655
Larry Butcher	4.2%	3,595
Matthew Dodrill	8.3%	7,072
Total Votes		85,322
Source:West Virginia Secretary of State

Libertarian convention

John Buckley won theLibertarian Party nomination on March 8, 2014.^[21] He defeatedThomas Coyne.

Race background

Shelley Moore Capito

Capito, a seven-term congresswoman, was the first Republican woman ever elected to theU.S. House of Representatives fromWest Virginia.^[3] The daughter of formerGovernor Arch A. Moore, Jr., Capito's moderate voting record, particularly on fiscal issues, and support for the coal industry had helped her appeal to voters in a state that historically swings blue.^[22][23] She had played a key role in West Virginia politics since she was first elected to theWest Virginia House of Delegates in 1996. Until 2011, she was the only Republican member of the West Virginia congressional delegation.^[24] Upon the passing of long-term Senator Robert Byrd (D), it was speculated that Capito would challenge then-governorJoe Manchin (D) for Byrd's vacant seat. However, Capito decided not to run, saying, "There has been enough unnecessary chaos and controversy surrounding the vacancy in the U.S. Senate. My candidacy would create more uncertainty, invite a legal challenge and misrepresent my priorities as a public servant."^[25] Before embarking on her career in politics, Capito was a college counselor and then director of an educational information center.^[26] She received her M.Ed. from the University of Virginia and subsequently received a bachelor's degree in zoology from Duke University.^[27]

Natalie Tennant

After a career in journalism—first as a television broadcaster and then as co-owner of a media consultancy group—Tennant was elected as the first femaleWest Virginia Secretary of State in 2008, after a failed bid for the position four years prior. She ran for governor in 2011 but was defeated in the primary election.^[28][29] She was, however, re-elected as secretary of state in 2012. One of Tennant's notable victories as secretary of state include the implementation of an online voting system that allowed 179 deployed West Virginian servicemen to easily vote online, though there was significant concern regarding how secure the system would be if it came up against hackers.^[30] One issue that occurred under her tenure as secretary of state cost the state over $200,000 when a misprinted Republican ballot asked voters to choose "not more than 18 delegates to the Republican National Convention," when up to 19 could have been selected.^[31] Tennant had attempted to distance herself from President Obama, whose approval rating in West Virginia was just 25 percent as of September 2014 and whose proposed regulations on coal have drawn the ire of residents in the coal-rich state.^[32][33][34] Despite this, she was endorsed for the Senate position byFirst Lady Michelle Obama.^[35] Other endorsers included MassachusettsSenator Elizabeth Warren and North DakotaSenator Heidi Heitkamp.^[36] Tennant received her bachelor's and master's degrees from West Virginia University.^[37]

Voting trends in West Virginia

NOTE: In this graph, red represents counties that voted Democrat, and blue represents counties that voted Republican. Presidential party votes by county.

Historically, West Virginia had swayed Democrat, particularly at the state level. However, it was beginning to grow more conservative by 2014, withGeorge W. Bush,John McCain andMitt Romney winning 56, 56 and 62 percent of the state votes in the respective 2004, 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.^[38] In 2012, Romney won every county in the state, marking the first time in history a major-party candidate failed to win any of West Virginia's counties.^[39][40]

West Virginia was still considered aTrifecta plus for Democrats, meaning Democrats controlled thegovernor's mansion,state Senate andstate House, and had a working majority of theState's High Court.

People familiar with West Virginia's history and voting trends were divided on which direction the state would head in regard to partisan allegiance. "In this past election, of all elections in the state of West Virginia, the fact is that Democrats won 67 percent of all the races which left the Republican Party to win 33 percent. So, there is not a question that it is a Democratic state," said Democratic Party Chairman Larry Puccio.^[41]

Dr. Robert Rupp, history professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College, had a different take on the matter, saying, "The situation in West Virginia since, basically starting in 2000, is a slow and sustained transition from an extremely loyal Democrat state to a Republican state. From a blue state to a red state. However, what’s interesting about the transition is that unlike other states in the south; let’s use Georgia for example in which the transition happened in less than a decade, in West Virginia the transition is slower and at different levels."^[41]

Voter turnout

According to records fromWest Virginia’s Secretary of State’s office, voter turnout had been declining in the state since 2006. Turnout for the 2006 midterm primary was 26 percent and 44 percent in the general election. In 2010, turnout declined to 24 percent during the midterm primary and 42 percent in the general election.^[42]

"During the 2012 general election, a presidential election year, West Virginia had the lowest voter turnout in the nation with about 47 percent of voters casting ballots. The U.S. Census Bureau said West Virginia was the only state where less than half of eligible voters made it to the polls," perWest Virginia Metro News.^[42]

Most vulnerable seats

TheFiscal Times compiled a list of the seven most vulnerableSenate seats up for election in 2014. The seven included in the list were:Alaska,Arkansas,Iowa,Louisiana,North Carolina,South Dakota andWest Virginia. Going into the 2014 election, all seven seats were held byDemocrats.^[43]

DemocratJay Rockefeller’s retirement from theU.S. Senate opend up a seat in astate that voted stronglyRepublican at the presidential level; however,West Virginia had remained relativelyDemocratic at the state level.^[43]

Issues

See also:Energy and the 2014 election: the ballots and beyond

Coal

Though a poll revealed coal was not the primary concern of most West Virginia voters - just over 16 percent chose "the future of coal" from among seven other options when asked what issue "is the most important to your vote for Congress this year" - both candidates presented pro-coal platforms.^[44] Tennant criticized Capito for voting against a mine safety act, a policy supported by other West Virginia delegates. Capito expressed displeasure with Tennant's comments, saying, "I was obviously a little surprised at the vindictive nature she came right out of the box against me. I’ve got a lot going on here, and I’ve been doing this a long time. So I’m going to stick with my strategy. I always take the high road."^[45]

Capito had traditionally been supportive of the coal and mining industry, sponsoring the Mine Safety Accountability and Improved Protection Act in 2011. In May 2013, she introduced the Coal Jobs Protection Act of 2013. The bill would require theEnvironmental Protection Agency to base a determination on approving a new or renewed permit covering discharges from a structure only on regulations issued by the permitting authority.^[46][47] Tennant releaseda campaign ad that was called "one of the most anti-Obama ads of the election." In it, she turned off the lights of the White House after saying, "You and I know it's our hard working West Virginia coal miners that power America. I'll make sure President Obama gets the message."^[48][33][34]

President Obama

Tennant worked to distance herself from President Obama and his policies, while Capito attempted to portray Tennant as just another "rubber stamp" for the Obama administration and its allies. The Capito camp claimed Tennant would vote forHarry Reid (D) for Senate majority leader.^[49][50] Tennant was confronted about her support for Obama by a disgruntled voter at one of her campaign events. Though Tennant said very little during the exchange, when asked why she had supported Obama, Tennant's campaign chair, Major General Allen E. Tackett, interjected saying, "because she supports most of his policies." Tennant campaign spokeswoman Jenny Donohue subsequently released a statement, saying, "The general misspoke. Natalie does not support the majority of the president’s policies."^{[51][52][53][54]}

Women's rights

Women's issues were featured prominently on the campaign trail for both female candidates. Tennant slammed Capito on her support of equal pay for women, saying, "Congresswoman Capito has a history of voting against West Virginia women, including voting five times against equal pay for equal work."^[55] Capito responded to charges of her participation in the "War on Women," explaining, "Essentially, you're trying to say I'm warring on myself. That doesn't hold much credibility." She launched aWomen With Shelley Coalition on June 30, which brought together women from across the state to discuss issues that were important to them.^[55][56] Tennant's largest donor during the 2014 campaign cycle wasEMILY's List, a political action committee that aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates to office.^[57][58]

Endorsements

Shelley Moore Capito

Capito was endorsed by the following:^[59]

• Wheeling Intelligencer
• Huntington Herald Dispatch
• Times West Virginian
• Parkersburg News and Sentinel
• The Martinsburg Journal
• The Weirton Daily Times
• Charleston Daily Mail
• Bluefield Daily Telegraph
• BIPAC – Business Industry Political Action Committee
• Maggie’s List
• National Association of Realtors
• National Association of Women Business Owners
• National Rifle Association
• National Right to Life
• National Shooting Sports Foundation
• RightNOW Women PAC
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• West Virginia Chamber of Commerce
• West Virginia Coal Association
• West Virginians for Life
• West Virginia Farm Bureau, Farm PAC
• West Virginia Citizens Defense League
• Hospac (West Virginia Hospital Association)
• West Virginia Medical Association
• Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce
• HuntPac (Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce)
• National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
• Corridor H, Finish It!

Natalie Tennant

Tennant was endorsed by the following:

• U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce^[60]
• First Lady Michelle Obama.^[35]
• MassachusettsSenator Elizabeth Warren
• North DakotaSenator Heidi Heitkamp.^[36]
• SenatorJay Rockefeller^[61]
• SenatorJoe Manchin^[61]
• GovernorEarl Ray Tomblin^[61]
• Former head of the West Virginia National Guard, Major General Allen Tackett (ret.)^[61]
• AFL-CIO^[61]
• The West Virginia Education Association^[61]
• The West Virginia chapter of American Federation of Teachers^[61]

Media

Shelley Moore Capito

Natalie Tennant

John Buckley

Polls

Campaign contributions

Candidate ballot access
Find detailed information onballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Natalie Tennant

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with theFederal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Tennant's reports.^[62]

Emily's List

Tennant's largest donor during the 2014 campaign cycle wasEMILY's List, a political action committee that aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates to office.^[69][70]

Shelley Moore Capito

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with theFederal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Capito's reports.^[71]

John Buckley

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with theFederal Election Commission during the2014 elections season. Below are Buckley's reports.^[79]

David Wamsley

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with theFederal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Wamsley's reports.^[81]

Election history

2012

On November 6, 2012,Joe Manchin won re-election to theUnited States Senate. He defeatedJohn Raese andBob Henry Baber in the general election.

U.S. Senate, West Virginia General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joe Manchin IIIIncumbent	60.6%	399,898
	Republican	John R. Raese	36.5%	240,787
	Mountain	Bob Henry Baber	3%	19,517
Total Votes				660,202
Source:U.S. House Clerk "2012 Election Statistics"

2008

On November 4, 2008, Rockefeller won re-election to the U.S. Senate, defeating Jay Wolfe (R), John R. "Rick" Bartlett (Write-in) and Chad Shaffer (Write-in).^[83]

U.S. Senate, West Virginia, General election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John D. Rockefeller IVIncumbent	63.7%	447,560
	Republican	Jay Wolfe	36.3%	254,629
	Write-in	John R. "Rick" Bartlett	0%	83
	Write-in	Chad Shaffer	0%	36
Total Votes				702,308

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2014
• United States Senate elections, 2014

External links

• West Virginia Elections Division

Footnotes

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