Top House Transportation Democrat Rep. Rahall Ousted
A majority of voters from West Virginia’s rural 3rd Congressional District have opted not to send Rep. Nick Rahall back to Congress for a 20th term.
According to the Associated Press, Rahall, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was defeated by Republican challenger Evan Jenkins, a state senator who was formerly a Democrat.
Jenkins’ winning strategy centered on appealing to people’s anti-Obama sentiment. The coal industry is a major player in the Mountain State. Polls showed that a number of voters blamed the Obama White House and Democratic leaders in Congress with advancing environmental regulations they found to be hurtful to that industry.
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Evan Jenkins at the podium. Pandemonium in here. pic.twitter.com/7uIFdDlKai
— Bishop Nash (@BishopNash) November 5, 2014
"We've taken a message of bringing new leadership to Washington from southern West Virginia that will fight for coal, that will fight for our values and that will stand up to the Obama agenda that's been so devastating," Jenkins said Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. "I'm humbled by the results so far. I'm ready to get to work."
While Rahall reminded voters of his record of reaching bipartisan compromise over the years and being independent from the Obama administration, the anti-incumbent momentum ultimately prevailed.
Part 1- Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall makes a speech after losing to Evan Jenkins. #WV2014 http://t.co/RtgtaEXuXY
— Register_Herald (@Register_Herald) November 5, 2014
Rahall’s defeat will cause a significant shakeup of the House transportation panel. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon will likely succeed Rahall as the top Democrat on the Transportation policy panel. DeFazio currently serves as ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee. Democrats will likely shift seats with other members of the panel.
Rahall was seen as key to helping Republican leaders move a multi-year highway bill, and pushing back on tea party efforts to downgrade the national federal transportation system. Rahall also supported lifting certain limits on the hours truckers can operate on the roads. His departure from the House next year could dim the prospect of advancing a long-term transportation bill, congressional observers say.
"Because this election is ending, it does not mean that my service will end tonight," Rahall said, according to AP. "One chapter ends and another begins. And no matter what is in that new chapter, I will continue to fight for our West Virginia way of life."
First elected in 1976, Rahall had collaborated with Republicans to help guide major highway bills into law. The 2012 transportation law MAP-21, which expires May 2015, is the most recent measure that Rahall helped advance.
Jenkins’ positions on transportation are not well-known.
