| From growing up in Glen Dale in the Northern Panhandle, to representing the 2nd Congressional District from the Ohio River up to the Eastern Panhandle, to raising her family in Charleston, Shelley knows the ins and outs of every region of the state. Early in life, Shelley saw how her father, Governor Arch Moore Jr., instituted changes to improve West Virginia-building up not only infrastructure and the economy but also families and state pride. It's that mindset that inspires her work today.
Shelley first dedicated her professional life to serving students, working as a college counselor and advisor at West Virginia State College (now University). She worked closely with first-generation college students, fueling her passion for providing life-changing opportunity for all West Virginians. Shelley also served as director of the Educational Information Center for the West Virginia Board of Regents, helping to advise higher education policy for the state. Her work there only sharpened her skills to turn policy on paper to tangible results.
While raising three kids, Shelley became more involved in her local community, representing Kanawha County in the West Virginia House of Delegates. In 2000, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked to spur growth by supporting community banks and freeing up capital to rural communities. She also worked extensively to expand transportation infrastructure throughout the state, most notably along Route 35. After seven terms representing the Second Congressional District, she ran for the United States Senate, hoping to be a stronger voice for the Mountain State and to restore order to a Senate stuck in gridlock for far too long. Shelley is the first female Senator in West Virginia's history and was elected with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history-winning more than 70 percent of the vote and all 55 counties, surpassing the previous mark she set in 2014 when she won more than 62 percent of the vote and all 55 counties.
Shelley lives with her husband, Charlie, in Charleston. They are the proud parents of Charles (wife Laura), Moore, and Shelley (husband Colin), and even prouder grandparents of Celia, Charlie, Eliza, Rose, Arch, Macaulay, and Lewis. |