| Image Name: | File:West Virginia's 1st congressional district (since 2023).png |
| Image Caption: | West Virginia's 1st congressional district since January 3, 2023 |
| State: | West Virginia |
| District Number: | 1 |
| Representative: | Carol Miller |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Huntington |
| Population: | 876,813 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $49,609[1] |
| Percent White: | 89.9 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 1.3 |
| Percent Black: | 4.1 |
| Percent Asian: | 0.7 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 3.7 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.4 |
| Cpvi: | R+23[2] |
West Virginia's 1st congressional district is currently located in the southern half of the state.
Responding to the census results, the state legislature adopted a new map for the 2022 elections and the following 10 years. It abandoned the practice used since the formation of the state of starting the numbering in the north, and rather divided the state in a northern and southern district, with the 1st being the more southerly one. The new 1st district contains the counties of Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wirt, and Wyoming.[3] For all intents and purposes, it was the successor to the 3rd district, and its congresswoman, Carol Miller, became the de facto incumbent in this new district. The state's other congressmen, Republicans David McKinley and Alex Mooney, were both drawn into the new 2nd district. All three ran for re-election.[4] Miller was easily nominated in the Republican primary held May 10, 2022, while former 1st district congressman David McKinley was soundly defeated by 2nd district congressman Alex Mooney. [5] Both Republicans were easily elected in November.
In its previous incarnation, the 1st covered the northern part of the state, and was historically the most regularly drawn district in the state. From 1953 to 2023, it was represented by only four men: Bob Mollohan (D) (1953–1957), former Governor Arch Moore, Jr. (R) (1957–1969), Bob Mollohan again (1969–1983), Alan Mollohan (1983–2011) and McKinley (2011-2023).
Despite the lack of turnover in the congressional seat, historically the 1st was not safe for either party. The cities are ancestrally Democratic strongholds, while the rural areas were much more conservative and had a tendency to swing Republican more often. As late as 2014, state legislators were roughly split between both parties.
For most of the 20th century, the Democratic vote in the cities was enough to keep the district in Democratic hands. However, West Virginia Democrats tend to be somewhat more socially conservative than their counterparts in the rest of the nation, and the district has been swept up in the growing Republican trend in the state at the national level. No Democrat since Bill Clinton (who did so by a plurality in a three-way race) has carried the 1st district in presidential elections. George W. Bush carried the district both times in 2000 with 54% of the vote and 2004 with 58% of the vote. John McCain carried the district in 2008 with 56.77% of the vote while Barack Obama received 41.51%.
Prior to the 2020 redistricting, the first district had always been anchored in Wheeling, and as such had always included Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel counties[6] –the five counties usually reckoned as the Northern Panhandle. The original 1863 districting included also Tyler, Pleasants, Doddridge, Harrison, Ritchie, Wood, Wirt, Gilmer, Calhoun and Lewis counties.[6] It was essentially the successor of Virginia's 11th congressional district.
In 1882, the counties of Tyler, Doddridge, Harrison, Gilmer, Lewis and Braxton were added to the core counties.[6] In 1902, the core counties were joined by Marion, Harrison, and Lewis counties.[6] In the 1916 redistricting it included only the five core counties and Marion and Taylor.[6] The district was unchanged in the 1934 and 1954 redistrictings.[6] In 1962, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Marion and Taylor joined the five core counties.[6] The 1972 redistricting added Tyler, Pleasants, and Woods and deleted Taylor.[6] The 1982 redistricting added Taylor back to the district.[6]
For 1992 the district consisted of Barbour, Brooke, Doddridge, Grant, Hancock, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Wetzel and Wood counties.[6] In 2002 Gilmer was added.[6] For the election cycle that began in 2012 the district was unchanged.[6]
For the 2020 census, the legislature abandoned the practice of numbering the districts from north to south and the first district was now the more southerly one, consisting of Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster, Wirt, and Wyoming counties.
| Election results from statewide races | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results |
| 2000 | President | Bush 54 - 43% |
| 2004 | President | Bush 58 - 42% |
| 2008 | President | McCain 57 - 42% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 62 - 36% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 68 - 26% |
| Governor | Cole 45 - 45% | |
| 2018 | Senate | Manchin 49 - 46% |
| 2020 | President | Trump 68 - 30% |
| Senate | Capito 70 - 27% | |
| Governor | Justice 64 - 30% | |
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established December 17, 1863 | ||||||||
| align=left | Jacob B. Blair | Union | nowrap | December 17, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | Elected in 1863. Retired. | |||
Chester D. Hubbard | Union | nowrap | March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 | Elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Lost renomination. | ||||
| Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869 | ||||||
| align=left | Isaac H. Duval | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871 | Elected in 1868. Retired. | |||
John James Davis | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873 | Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired. | ||||
| Independent Democratic | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 | |||||||
| align=left | Benjamin Wilson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Nathan Goff Jr. | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889 | Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John O. Pendleton | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1889 – February 26, 1890 | Elected in 1888. Lost contested election. | |||
| align=left | George W. Atkinson | Republican | nowrap | February 26, 1890 – March 3, 1891 | Won contested election. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John O. Pendleton | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Blackburn B. Dovener | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1907 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | William Pallister Hubbard | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1911 | Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John W. Davis | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1911 – August 29, 1913 | Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Resigned to become U.S. Solicitor General. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | August 29, 1913 – October 14, 1913 | ||||||
| align=left | Matthew M. Neely | Democratic | nowrap | October 14, 1913 – March 3, 1921 | Elected to finish Davis's term. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Benjamin L. Rosenbloom | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925 | Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
| align=left | Carl G. Bachmann | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1933 | Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Robert L. Ramsay | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939 | Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | A. C. Schiffler | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1941 | Elected in 1938. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Robert L. Ramsay | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943 | Elected in 1940. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | A. C. Schiffler | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1945 | Elected in 1942. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Matthew M. Neely | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947 | Elected in 1944. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Francis J. Love | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | Elected in 1946. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Robert L. Ramsay | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Bob Mollohan | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1957 | Elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Retired to run for governor. | |||
| align=left | Arch A. Moore Jr. | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1969 | Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Retired to run for governor. | |||
| align=left | Bob Mollohan | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1983 | Elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Alan Mollohan | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011 | Elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | David McKinley | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023 | Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Redistricted to the and lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Carol Miller | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2023 – present | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 2022. | |||