← U.S. Senate

Shelley Moore Capito✓ Incumbent

RepublicanCharleston
📋 Key Policy Positions
Economy

Backs making 2017 tax cuts permanent; generally supports tariffs.

  • Vote or action. Voted for the 2025 law extending 2017 tax cuts and supports making them permanent.
  • Statement. Generally supports Trump’s tariffs to boost manufacturing.
  • Statement. After a Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs’ legal basis, only addressed whether revenue must be refunded, not the policy itself.
  • Statement. Attributes falling inflation to current policies while acknowledging WV households face high gas and grocery prices; calls for more domestic energy production.
Healthcare

Voted for the 2025 law changing Medicaid; backs rural hospital funding.

  • Vote or action. Voted for the 2025 tax and spending law that changed Medicaid rules and ACA-related subsidies.
  • Statement. Points to a $50 billion rural hospital program in that law, which sent about $199.5 million to West Virginia, and calls critics’ $1 billion rural-hospital loss estimate "overstated."
  • Statement. Supports regulating pharmacy benefit managers and drug-price transparency, but opposes government-set drug prices.

Context: An independent analysis projects about 60,000 West Virginians could lose Medicaid coverage under the law.

Foreign Policy

Backs the 2026 Iran strikes and a strong pro-Israel stance.

  • Statement. Supports the 2026 U.S./Israeli military strikes on Iran and opposes congressional efforts to limit presidential war powers over the conflict.
  • Statement. Strong, consistent supporter of Israel; says she backs an eventual two-state solution with Palestinians.

Context: Her 2026 campaign received over $482,000 from AIPAC’s political action committee.

Education

Backs continued federal K-12 funding; opposes broad loan forgiveness.

  • Statement. Supports continuing federal K-12 funding (Title I, special education, career/technical grants) and opposes cuts to federal charter school funding.
  • Statement. Opposes broad federal student loan forgiveness plans.
  • Vote or action. Chairs the Senate subcommittee overseeing education funding; pushed to fix FAFSA rollout problems.

No public position found on eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.

Context: Eliminating the Department of Education is a live national debate.

Artificial Intelligence

Favors voluntary standards over broad AI regulation.

  • Statement. Favors light-touch, voluntary standards over broad AI regulation.
  • Vote or action. Co-sponsors a bill directing federal safety guidelines for AI evaluators.
  • Vote or action. Co-sponsors a bipartisan bill banning AI voice/image impersonation used for scams.

No public position found on AI’s effect on jobs, workforce policy.

Abortion

Votes against abortion rights; once called herself "pro-choice."

  • Vote or action. Has a consistent anti-abortion-rights voting record (opposing federal funding for abortion, supporting related restrictions), per an advocacy group’s scorecard.
  • Statement. Has described herself as "pro-choice" in the past; in 2025 she urged reinstating "life-affirming" federal policies.

Context: Sources note this tension is unresolved. Her 2026 primary opponent called it a "flip-flop"; that is his characterization, not an independently confirmed fact.

Government Ethics

Voted to confirm her son as U.S. Attorney; watchdog criticized timing.

  • Vote or action. Voted to confirm her son as U.S. Attorney for southern West Virginia the same day she voted for the 2025 tax and spending law.
  • Statement. Her office says "the ethics are clear on this vote."

No public position found on a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.

Context: Ethics watchdog CREW criticized the timing as an appearance concern; no formal Senate ethics complaint is known to have been filed.

Vote, bill or action Statement or pledge Unverified claim

👤 Background

Republican U.S. Senator since 2015, seeking a third term in 2026. Chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; fourth-ranking Senate Republican leader. Previously served in the WV House of Delegates (1996–2000) and U.S. House (2001–2015). Daughter of former Gov. Arch Moore; her son is now a U.S. Attorney. Degrees from Duke and University of Virginia.

🏅 Endorsements

President Donald Trump endorsed her reelection. Endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (April 2026), NFIB West Virginia, representing small businesses (March 2026), and GO-WV, the Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia (March 2026). Holds a lifetime "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund

🔗 Campaign Links
🌐 Campaign Website📱 X (Twitter): @SenCapito (official), @capitoforwv (campaign)Instagram: @sencapito, @capitoforwv

Sources: West Virginia Watch, Charleston Gazette-Mail, Mountain State Spotlight, The Intelligencer, capito.senate.gov, Ballotpedia, FEC.gov

Running in: U.S. Senate (2026 General Election)