Shelley Wellons Moore Capito is the senior United States senator from West Virginia. She was first elected to the Senate in 2014, becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from West Virginia, and she was reelected in 2020 by a landslide.
Capito is the daughter of former West Virginia governor and U.S. representative Arch A. Moore Jr. She grew up in West Virginia, attended Duke University (B.A., zoology) and the University of Virginia (M.Ed.), and worked in education and workforce counseling roles before entering elected office.
Before the Senate, Capito served seven terms in the U.S. House (2001–2015), representing West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district. Her brand has long been a center-right, constituent-service workhorse: high touch on local projects, pragmatic coalition-building, and an emphasis on deliverables over cable-news theatrics.
In the Senate, she has focused heavily on transportation and infrastructure funding, broadband buildout, clean water systems, energy permitting, and opioid response, while remaining broadly aligned with the GOP on taxes, regulation, and fossil-fuel protection. Since 2025, she has chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, giving her major leverage over infrastructure pipelines and environmental permitting fights.
Moderate Republican
Committee Assignments
Caucus Memberships
Achievements
- First woman elected to the U.S. Senate from West Virginia; became the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
- Chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (since 2025), shaping major infrastructure and permitting priorities.
- Central advocate for broadband expansion, highways/bridges, and water-system upgrades across rural Appalachia.
- High-profile focus on opioid response funding, treatment access, and public health resources in hard-hit communities.
- Positions herself as a pragmatic “deliverables” senator—often engaged in bipartisan talks on large spending or infrastructure bills.
Controversies
- Criticized from the left for protecting coal and natural gas interests and resisting aggressive climate targets.
- Criticized from the right for participating in bipartisan spending negotiations and not always taking maximal “no” votes.
- Mixed record on social issues (notably abortion and LGBTQ+), drawing distrust from both activist wings over time.
- Backed key Trump-era priorities and judicial confirmations, while occasionally distancing from Trump’s rhetoric—fueling periodic “too establishment” attacks.
- Voting against a January 6 commission and supporting leadership priorities has drawn scrutiny from democracy and good-government groups.
Top Donors
| Donor | Total | Individuals | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Companies | $49,200 | $34,200 | $15,000 |
| Blackstone Group | $46,800 | $46,800 | $0 |
| FirstEnergy Corp | $45,325 | $39,325 | $6,000 |
| GEO Group | $44,500 | $34,500 | $10,000 |
| Senior Star | $41,900 | $41,900 | $0 |
Amounts shown reflect organization-linked giving; most funds listed here are from individual donors or aligned PACs.
Recent Elections
2014 Margin R +28.0%
2020 Margin R +43.0%
West Virginia’s rapid partisan realignment at the federal level has turned Capito into one of the safest Republican senators in the country.