Alex Mooney

Alex Mooney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Shelley Moore Capito
Member of the Maryland Senate from the 3rd district
In office January 13, 1999 – January 12, 2011
Preceded by	John W. Derr
Succeeded by	Ronald N. Young
Personal details
Born	(1971-06-07) June 7, 1971 Washington, D.C., United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Grace Mooney
Children	3
Residence	Frederick, Maryland (1999–2013) Charles Town, West Virginia (2013–present)
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	Congressional Campaign

Alex X. Mooney (born June 7, 1971) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. He served in the Maryland State Senate, representing District 3, from 1999 to 2011 and is a former Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party. He is the first Hispanic elected to Congress in West Virginia history.^[1]

Early life, education, and early career

Mooney's mother, Lala, was a Cuban refugee who escaped from political imprisonment at the age of 21, shortly after the Bay of Pigs Invasion.^[2] From a family of Irish immigrants, his father Vincent grew up in Long Island, New York. Mooney was born in 1971 in Washington D.C. He graduated from Frederick High School. There he was elected as Student Government Association President.^[2] In 1993, he received his B.A. in philosophy from Dartmouth College. While attending Dartmouth, he ran for the New Hampshire House of Representatives in Grafton County's 10th District. He finished in last place with 8% of the vote.^[3]

After college, Mooney served as staff assistant to U.S. Representative Roscoe G. Bartlett, remaining as his assistant until 1995. That year, he became a legislative analyst for the Republican Conference of the U.S. House of Representatives.^[4]

In addition to his political work, Mooney also is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He served as the executive director of the National Journalism Center from 2005–2012. In 2007, Mooney was elected to the Executive Committee of the Dartmouth College Association of Alumni.^[5]

Maryland Senate

He formerly represented Maryland's District 3rd, which covers parts of Washington and Frederick Counties.

Elections

Mooney has run for public office in three different states: New Hampshire, Maryland, and West Virginia.^[6] His first run for public office was in New Hampshire, where he lost a bid for the New Hampshire State House while attending Dartmouth College. Mooney was a member of the Maryland State Senate from 1999 through 2011. When Mooney ran for the Maryland Senate in 1998, he defeated incumbent Republican John W. Derr in the primary election and Democrat Ronald S. Bird in the general election.^[7] In 2002, Mooney won re-election defeating Democrat Sue Hecht, with 55% of the vote.^[8] Mooney won re-election in 2006 with 52% of the vote against Candy Greenway.^[9] In 2010, Democrat Ronald N. Young, Mayor of Frederick defeated him 51%–49%.^[10][11]

Tenure

Mooney received the Maryland Taxpayer of the Year award in 2000 and the National Hero of the Taxpayer Award for 2003. He has also received the top business rating in the state by the Maryland Business for Responsive Government.

Mooney traveled to New Hampshire to testify in support of a state bill that would require legislative approval for amendments that the private Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College wished to make to its charter.^[12]

Committee assignments

In the Maryland State Senate, Mooney was a member of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, the Joint Committee on Investigation, and formerly a member of the Joint Committee on Federal Relations, and the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. He served on the Maryland Rural Caucus, the Taxpayers Protection Caucus, and the Maryland Veterans Caucus.

Post-Senate career

Chairman of the Maryland GOP

On December 11, 2010, Mooney was elected as Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party. He was Chairman until early 2013.

2012 congressional election

After redistricting, Bartlett's 6th District was significantly redrawn. Heavily Republican Carroll County, as well as more Republican portions of Baltimore, Frederick and Harford counties, were shifted out of the district, replaced by a heavily Democratic spur of Montgomery County.^[13] Obama only took 40 percent of the vote in the old 6th, but would have won 56 percent in the new 6th.^[14] After creating an exploratory committee to challenge Bartlett in the Republican primary,^[15] Mooney decided not to run against him.^[16]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2014

In March 2012, Mooney filed as a candidate in the 2014 Republican primary for the 6th District. However, he subsequently had to withdraw his candidacy because he was still Bartlett's part-time outreach director at the time he filed papers to run in 2014. House ethics rules do not allow congressional staffers to remain employed in a congressional office while campaigning.^[17][18]

Mooney subsequently moved to Charles Town, West Virginia, a small town on the state's eastern tip, and declared his candidacy for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district. The district includes most of the West Virginia portion of the Washington market. Seven-term Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito was giving up the seat to run for the United States Senate.^[19] During his campaign, Mooney was accused of being a "carpetbagger" by West Virginia Democrats, since he recently moved to West Virginia.^[20]

He received the Republican Party nomination on May 13 beating six other opponents in the Republican primary. Mooney won 15 of the 17 counties in the congressional district with an overall total of 36.02 percent of the vote.^[21] Mooney faced Democrat Nick Casey in the 2014 General Election.^[22]

On November 4, 2014, Mooney defeated Casey in the general election, 49 percent to 47 percent. He won Berkeley County, in the state's Eastern Panhandle, by 5,000 votes—more than the overall margin of 4,900 votes. Berkeley, like Charles Town, is part of the Washington market.^[23] Mooney was also helped by long coattails from Capito, who carried every county in the district (and the state).^[24]

Mooney became the first Latino elected to West Virginia's congressional delegation in the state's history.^[1]

Tenure

Mooney was sworn in on January 6, 2015.

Committee assignments

• United States House Committee on Natural Resources^[25]
• United States House Committee on the Budget^[25]

Electoral history

• 2010 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 3^[26]

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Ronald N. Young, Dem.	22,710	51.1%	Won
Alex X. Mooney, Rep.	21,666	48.7%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	75	0.2%	Lost

• 2006 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 3^[9]

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Alex X. Mooney, Rep.	21,844	51.9%	Won
Candy O. Greenway, Dem.	20,111	47.8%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	104	0.2%	Lost

• 2002 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 3^[8]

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Alex X. Mooney, Rep.	21,617	55.0%	Won
C. Sue Hecht, Dem.	17,654	44.9%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	66	0.2%	Lost

• 1998 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 3^[27]

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Alex X. Mooney, Rep.	18,399	56%	Won
Ronald S. Bird, Dem.	14,212	44%	Lost

References and notes

External links

• Congressman Alex Mooney official U.S. House site
• Official Campaign Website
• "Alex X. Mooney, Maryland State Senator". Maryland State Archives. 
• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Alex Mooney at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia 1st district Blair C. Hubbard Duval J. J. Davis B. Wilson Goff Pendleton Atkinson Pendleton Dovener W. Hubbard J. W. Davis Neely Rosenbloom Bachmann Ramsay Schiffler Ramsay Schiffler Neely Love Ramsay R. Mollohan Moore R. Mollohan A. Mollohan McKinley 2nd district Brown, Sr. Latham Kitchen McGrew Hagans Faulkner Martin Hoge W. Wilson Dayton T. Davis Sturgiss Brown, Jr. Bowers Allen Bowman Randolph M. Snyder Staggers, Sr. Benedict Staggers, Jr. Wise Capito Mooney 3rd district Whaley Polsley Witcher Hereford Kenna C. Snyder Alderson Huling Dorr Johnston Gaines Littlepage Avis Littlepage Reed Wolverton O'Brien Wolverton Hornor Edmiston Rohrbough Bailey Rohrbough Bailey Slack Hutchinson Staton Wise Rahall Jenkins 4th district Gibson C. Hogg Jackson C. Smith Capehart Miller Freer Hughes Woodyard Hamilton Moss Woodyard Johnson Woodyard Hughes R. Hogg Johnson Ellis Burnside Neal Burnside Neal Hechler Rahall 5th district Hughes Cooper Goodykoontz Lilly Strother Shott John Kee E. Kee James Kee 6th district Littlepage Echols Taylor England J. Smith Hedrick Byrd Slack At-large Sutherland