For those getting up to speed on West Virginia’s Second Congressional District, here’s what you need to know about Alex “Maryland” Mooney: he’s a carpet-bagging, career politician despised by members of his own party, whose hometown paper wrote that the driving ambition behind his congressional race is his own “driving ambition.”
In fact, the conservative Charleston Daily Mail recently endorsed Nick Casey, writing, “The mysterious Mooney seems to be more of an ideologue that wouldn’t work well with the other party.”
See for yourself:
- Spirit of Jefferson Editorial: “Driving ambition behind this run simply Mooney’s driving ambition?”“Mooney, who resigned as GOP chairman in Maryland only last year, began renting a house in Charles Town in October. […] He hasn’t even extended himself enough to buy a house in our state. We would encourage voters to examine Mooney’s motivations in seeking this office. Is it about representing West Virginia? Or is the driving ambition behind this run simply Mooney’s driving ambition?” [Spirit of Jefferson 5/21/14]|
- Mooney “The Portrait of a Political Prostitute.” “In fact, it deters enlightened interests from locating in the state. But it doesn’t stop the political wannabes from trampling on voters. Consider that the state’s Second District has a Republican nominee who has run for political office in three different states: Alex Mooney — the portrait of a political prostitute, having never paid property taxes in West Virginia, nor voted there until his primary win in May.” [Forbes, 10/02/14]
- Huntington News: Mooney “Slipped Across the Border.” “Ask around 2nd Congressional District Republican Circles who Alex Mooney is and you will probably get a bunch of blank stares. But ask Marylanders in Frederick and Washington Counties, and they’ll know right off. […] But now Mooney has slipped across the border into the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and has declared his candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District seat being vacated due to Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito’s run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.” [Huntington News,8/06/13]
- Maryland Republican Party Executive Director: Mooney Came to West Virginia to Run for Congress. “He also, it seems, came to West Virginia to run for Congress. “He’s wanted to run for Congress for a while,” said Joe Cluster, the current executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. “He saw an opportunity in West Virginia, and he took advantage.”” [Charleston Gazette, 5/18/14]
- Former West Virginia Republican State Party: “Hard to Argue” Mooney Has Closer Ties to West Virginia Than Maryland. In 2014, the Charleston Daily Mail reported: “As a Republican voter in the district, Stuart said he feels conflicted between his desire to support a candidate in his party versus the desire to support a candidate from West Virginia…Stuart said it’s “hard to argue” Mooney has closer ties to West Virginia than Maryland.” [Charleston Daily Mail, 7/24/14]
- Charleston Daily Mail: Mooney Would Not Respond to Questions About Buying a Home in West Virginia or Remaining in West Virginia. “The campaign for GOP Congressional Candidate Alex Mooney won’t say if he plans to buy a home in West Virginia… He didn’t answer any question about whether Mooney has purchased a home, or provide any context about his living situation.” [Charleston Daily Mail, 6/26/14]
- Headline: West Virginia Newcomer Battles Carpetbagger Label.“Physician recruiter Brenda Greene, a registered Republican, weighed in when informed of Mooney’s recent arrival to her state’s politics. ‘That bothers me,” she said. ‘Unless they were from here originally and left … but if they’re coming here just to get a seat, just because this is the place to come to be able to bump somebody out, that’s not the right mind set to be running for political office.’” [Roll Call, 7/10/14]
- Headline: Mooney’s Maneuver. “Mooney will likely have a hard time getting traction in the populous capital metropolitan area, and the fact that he’ll be cast as a carpetbagger “from the East” will probably be as important as any issues with his politics” [Frederick News Post, 7/13/14]