Outside the spotlight but always working, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has for years now done what she was elected by the people of West Virginia to do. On Wednesday, that diligence was rewarded when she became the fifth-ranked Republican in the Senate — becoming the vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference and a member of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership team.
After the leadership elections, Capito showed she understood the weight of her position:
“The meeting we had was very interesting. It was very respectful,” she said. “We listened very attentively to the ideas and the desire of our members. After all, we’re elected. Our constituency was in that room …”
After being elected to the Senate in 2014, Capito chose not to sit back and remain unnoticed, but to move into positions of ever increasing responsibility and influence. She is the ranking Republican on the Committee on Environment and Public Works. She, alongside Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., sits on the Committee on Appropriations; she is on the Committee on Rules and Administration; and spent the spring of 2021 in the thick of negotiations over the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Capito has the luxury of not worrying about a campaign until 2026. She can continue to work unfettered for the people of West Virginia, knowing she has genuinely earned her position of influence — not just in her own party, but in the Senate as a whole. No doubt she will use it to our advantage.