Carol Miller will continue to represent West Virginia’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to unofficial election results released Tuesday evening.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller at 8:36 p.m
As of 11:44 p.m., with 88% of the state’s votes counted, Miller has received 66.5% of the vote so far. That compares with independent candidate Wes Holden’s 7.4% of the vote and Democrat Chris Bob Reed’s 26% of the vote.
In a statement from her campaign after her victory was announced, Miller said her next term would focus on several issues central to conservative ideals: “securing” the country’s southern border, increasing domestic energy production, cutting taxes and Health care reform.
“I am honored to have won the election in West Virginia’s First District. Serving the southern half of West Virginia for the past six years has been an honor that I do not take lightly, and I will continue to implement policies that put West Virginians and Americans first stand,” the statement said. “Thank you voters for trusting me in sending me back to Washington DC. God bless West Virginia and God bless the United States of America.”
The race was one of the few in the state to feature an independent candidate. A longtime aide to former governor and senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat, Holden campaigned as a challenger to the two-party system. He received support from many of the state’s labor unions as well as progressive political groups.
Reed was largely inactive during the election and never launched a campaign website. According to the Federal Election Commission, Reed has not filed any financial reports for this election. He did not participate in election polls or questionnaires from media organizations.
Miller served as a Republican in the state House of Representatives for more than a decade before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, where she has served since.
She won her primary in May against Derrick Evans, a fellow Republican who resigned from the state legislature just two months after his election because of his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. In 2022, a grand jury indicted Evans on five counts related to the January 6 insurrection, and he later pleaded guilty to a felony count of rioting. He served almost three months in prison on this charge.
Miller is a staunch conservative and vocal Trump supporter. She was one of 147 Republicans in Congress who voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election in 2021 amid allegations of fraud. These claims have been proven false.
