W.Va. GOP rep eyeing governor’s mansion

Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) said Tuesday he is considering a run for governor in West Virginia in 2016.

“We’re giving that a lot of consideration,” McKinley told West Virginia MetroNews. “Just a lot of facts have to come into play, (like) whether we can be of more service in the federal government or back here at the state. We don’t know.”

McKinley is serving his third term in the House. He ran for governor once before, losing the Republican primary in 1996 to Cecil Underwood, who went on to win the general election.

{mosads}“We’re doing fact-finding,” McKinley said. “At this point in my life, I’m not looking for another career. I’m trying to find out — what’s the best way that we can help turn this economy around? I’m tired of West Virginia always being last in all these numbers.”

McKinley isn’t the only member of Congress eyeing the governor’s mansion in 2016.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a centrist Democrat who served as governor of the state from 2005 to 2010, may be looking to return to his old job.

“There is definitely that consideration,” he told The Register-Herald of Beckley, W.Va., in November. “If I don’t see the opportunities to really help my country and my state, and things just stay the same and we continue to hear the rhetoric, if it’s the same-old same-old, it’s not a place I’d desire to be.”

“If there is an opportunity in West Virginia and the people would want me to come back home, I would definitely consider that move,” he added.

Manchin has been vocal about his frustrations with gridlock on Capitol Hill and the leadership in his own party. The West Virginia Democrat gave generously to state officials up for reelection in 2014, potentially laying the groundwork for a return there.