Top GOP Pick Undecided on WV Senate Run

UPDATE: Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has decided against running for the U.S. Senate.  She says she wants voters to send her back to the House for a sixth term.

West Virginia Republicans’ top choice to run for the seat formerly filled by legendary Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd says she remains undecided as of Monday evening. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito told Fox News that she was still weighing the consequences of a state-wide campaign, “Obviously this is a big decision for me and for the state,” she noted.

“I’ve gotten a lot of encouragement and support,” Capito said, but added that some people were telling her to slow down, “I’ve had some folks tell me to exercise caution and maybe pull back and wait for another opportunity.”

Some insiders think waiting for another day might be Capito’s best course of action. “She’ll lose,” said one senior Hill source, “So why try.”

The NRSC is one group that does not want her to ease up, “They’re anxious to grab that seat,” Capito disclosed.

The West Virginia law governing the election process would actually allow Capito to run for the Senate seat in the special election and run for her seat in the U.S. House in the general election simultaneously. That provision was added at the last minute to gain Republican support for the bill in Charleston.

Capito will have until the 5:00 p.m. ET Friday filing deadline to decide whether or not to throw her hat into the ring, but she says she will be making a final decision “pretty quickly.” Troy Berman, executive director of the West Virginia Republican Party, tells Fox that he expects candidates to begin making their intentions known “within the next 24 hours.”