McKinley doesn't rule out bid for W.Va. Senate seat

Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) is leaving the door open to launching a possible bid for Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W.Va.) seat in 2014, although he had complimentary words for the only announced candidate thus far, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (D-Va.).

McKinley said on local radio Thursday that he has been approached by supporters who'd like him to run, but he "likes what he is seeing" from Capito, according to the WV MetroNews.

“I have told them I am, right now, watching to see what happens with Shelley, how well she continues to maintain a fiscal policy that is good for this country,” he said.

However, McKinley warned that her nomination isn't a foregone conclusion, and that West Virginia Republicans will be watching the way she votes in the coming months.

“If she is not going to be that fiscal hawk that is going to make sure that we get our spending under control, then we’ll find another candidate.”

Capito voted against the deal brokered to avoid the tax increases and budget cuts known as the "fiscal cliff," along with a number of her conservative colleagues, but she voted for the extension of aid to Hurricane Sandy victims — a bill that brought criticism from some fiscal conservatives, but passed with a large margin.

It's clear that Capito's position in the upcoming negotiations surrounding the effort to raise the government's debt ceiling will be closely watched in the state.

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