Congressman David McKinley’s re-election Tuesday evening came as no surprise to most who have been following the 1st Congressional District race. His opponent, Democratic state Auditor Glen Gainer, was often criticized for running a quiet race, one he called “truly grassroots.”
By the end of the night, results showed McKinley winning with 64 percent of the vote, but he spoke to supporters in Morgantown shortly after the polls closed.
“This party, they’re rejecting what was happening in Washington and happening from around the country. They’re saying that we want to see something different,” McKinley said of Republican voters.
McKinley has been particularly critical of the Environmental Protection Agency, most recently attacking the agency’s proposed carbon emission rules. The Congressman vowed to continue to fight those regulations.
“We’re just not finished,” he said. “Tonight is where we begin, and, I mean this very sincerely, we start to rebuild America. We’ve had six years of devastating regulatory effects, the overreach that’s happened in this administration.”
McKinley will begin his third term in office in January when Congress returns to session.