McKinley retains first congressional district - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

McKinley retains first congressional district

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By Pam Kasey - email

Republican David McKinley has successfully defended his seat in West Virginia's first congressional district against Democrat Sue Thorn.

With 89 percent of votes counted at 11:50 p.m., McKinley had 62 percent of the vote to Thorn's 38 percent of the vote.

An engineer and businessman in Wheeling who in 2010 won the seat long held by Democrat Alan Mollohan, McKinley conducted an active first term in Congress. He especially championed legislation he authored to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the disposal of coal ash, legislation that passed in the House but not in the Senate.

He serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade and the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.

While McKinley works to defend and extend favorable conditions for businesses, Thorn ran on a campaign pinned in part on "an end to corporate rule."

McKinley represented the state's third district in the state House of Delegates in the 1980s and early 1990s, serving also as chairman of the state Republican Party from 1990 to 1994. He ran for governor in 1996, losing in the primary to Cecil Underwood.

Among his endorsements in this election were those of the U.S. and West Virginia chambers of commerce, the National Rifle Association and numerous trade organizations and area newspapers.