CQPolitics

The economically diverse 2nd stretches across the mountainous state from the Ohio border to the Eastern Panhandle at Harpers Ferry. It is home to poor coal mining areas and isolated towns, as well as the more-prosperous capital city of Charleston and its commuters in the east.

Charleston, the district’s pre-eminent city, is a center for chemical plants, state employees and retail shopping. Chemical plants cut back in the late 1990s and a sluggish economy hit manufacturers hard, but there has been an upswing in state chemical exports. Overall, much of the recent job growth has come from a boom in telemarketing firms moving to the state and from retail expansion around Charleston, although overseas competition has slowed telemarketing growth since 2000.

The mountainous regions north and east of Kanawha County remain dependent on coal, although production has dropped, particularly in Clay County, due in part to companies declaring bankruptcy and to declining demand. Putnam County takes in Buffalo, which is the site of a Toyota plant that expanded operations in 2006 for the fourth time since opening.

Economic depression in the 1980s drove residents from the 2nd. But beginning in the 1990s, the district’s eastern counties began filling with Washington, D.C., commuters, causing rapid growth. The district has the highest median income in the state, at just over $33,000.

The 2nd was loyal to Democrats in House elections for 18 years before electing a Republican in 2000. Expanding GOP territories dot the district, particularly in the Panhandle, where Republicans have made gains in party registration. Berkeley County, which includes Martinsburg, voted a straight GOP ticket in 2004, from the presidential and gubernatorial races down to state legislative contests. Overall, George W. Bush carried the district with 57 percent in the 2004 presidential election, after winning 54 percent here in 2000. Braxton County was the only county to favor Democrat John Kerry in 2004, although with just 50 percent of the vote.

Major Industry

Chemicals, lumber, manufacturing, retail, coal, telephone call centers

Cities

Charleston, 53,421; Martinsburg, 14,972; South Charleston, 13,390

Notable

The Toyota plant in Buffalo was the company’s first automatic transmission production facility outside of Japan.