Americans have grown tired of political dynasties. The Bush and Clinton dynasties are just the latest in a long line of American political dynasties to suffer electoral defeat and fade away. It was one of the clear lessons of 2016 when both Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton were defeated. No more dynasties. Even the Kennedy dynasty in Massachusetts has been rejected by voters.
Yet in West Virginia, dynastic politics is alive and well in the Republican Party. It all began in the late 1950s with Arch Moore, who served in the House of Representatives and as governor of the Mountain State in the 1970s and 1980s (and delivered West Virginia's delegates to Gerald Ford in 1976, ending the Reagan campaign that year). His daughter, Shelley Moore Capito served in the West Virginia legislature, the United States House and now serves in the United States Senate. His one grandson, Moore Capito served in the West Virginia legislature and is a candidate for governor this year. His other grandson, Riley Capito serves as the West Virginia Treasurer and is running for Congress in the state's Second Congressional District.
While the Moores have always been more Rockefeller Republicans than Reagan or Trump Republicans, Riley Moore makes them look downright conservative in comparison.
While he claims he started his working life as a welder and mentions his lineage, he omits that he also worked for John Podesta at the Podesta Group. That's right, the John Podesta who served as Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff, Transition Chairman for Obama/Biden and Hillary Clinton's 2016 Campaign Chairman. And just recently he was tapped by Joe Biden to succeed John Kerry as Climate Czar (no surprise that office isn't a big fan of one of West Virginia's chief industries – the coal industry).
So, what did Riley Moore do at the Podesta Group? As a lobbyist, he lobbied, of course. For Ukraine. That is right he was a major lobbyist for Ukraine. He tries to downplay that claiming he was just a junior member of the team.
Entering politics, he was elected to the West Virginia State House, and then to State Treasurer in 2022 and announced for Congress in 2023 with Kevin McCarthy's endorsement. Already the talk in West Virginia is that the House is only a stepping stone until his aunt, Shelley Moore Capito retires.
Though he claims his pedigree is now America First, the question remains is this just his latest incarnation like his grandfather attempted after Ronald Reagan's ascendancy in Republican politics in the 1980s. Rather than find out, West Virginians might want to consider retiring another political dynasty.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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