Early life, education, and early career

Rahall was born in Beckley, West Virginia, the son of Mary Alice and Nick Joe Rahall. He is a Presbyterian of Lebanese-Protestant descent, whose grandparents immigrated from Lebanon. His family owned radio station WWNR, which his father started with his uncles Farris, Sam, and Deem, and expanded to own other radio stations in a number of states.

Rahall graduated in 1971 from Duke University. He attended graduate school at the George Washington University, but did not graduate. He then worked as a sales rep for his family's radio station, WWNR. Rahall served as president of the Mountaineer Tour and Travel Agency in 1974, and was president of West Virginia Broadcasting.

He went to work as staff assistant for the late U.S. Senator Robert Byrd who he identifies as a mentor.

U.S. House of Representatives

Rahall was the most senior of five Arab American lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Elections

1970s-90s

Rahall was elected to Congress in 1976 in the 4th district, succeeding Ken Hechler who ran for governor. Rahall won the district primary with a plurality of 38%. Hechler lost the primary for governor, and attempted a write-in campaign for the congressional seat. Rahall won the general election with 46% of the vote, while Hechler got 37%.

In 1978, Hechler challenged Rahall in the Democratic primary, and Rahall won with 56% of the vote. He was re-elected 17 times. Hechler later became the West Virginia Secretary of State, and ran against Rahall in the primary in 1990. Rahall defeated him, receiving 57% of the vote.

In 1990, he defeated Republican insurance agent Marianne Brewster with just 52% of the vote, the second-lowest winning percentage of his career. The district was redrawn after the 1990 census, becoming the 3rd district, due to changes to the state's population.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2010 § District 3

In 2010, he defeated Republican former State Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard with 56% of the vote, his lowest percentage since 1990.

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2012 § District 3

In the 2012 election, Rahall defeated Republican Rick Snuffer with 53.5% of the vote. His eight-point margin of victory was his narrowest since 1990.

2014

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2014 § District 3

In 2014, Rahall faced a primary challenge from fellow Democrat and retired Army officer Richard Ojeda. Rahall won the primary with 66.4% of the vote.

He faced Republican State Senator Evan Jenkins in the November general election. Jenkins had served in the state legislature for 20 years as a Democrat, but had switched parties to improve his chances of being elected to Congress. Jenkins and Rahall had contributed to each other's campaigns in the decade's previous election cycles.

Rahall was considered one of the most "endangered" House Democrats by the House Democratic campaign committee. He received an endorsement from the NRA. Rahall was the sole remaining Democrat in West Virginia's three-member delegation to the House of Representatives.

As of September 18, 2014, the race was rated a "toss up" by both University of Virginia political professor Larry Sabato, of Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report. As of October 2, managing editor Kyle Kondik of Sabato's Crystal Ball said the race was still a toss-up, calling it "Super close, super expensive and super nasty." The Rahall campaign outspent the Jenkins campaign in the election by a two-to-one ratio.

Ultimately, Rahall was defeated, with 44.7% of the vote to Jenkins' 55.3% of the vote. In the process, he lost a number of areas that had reliably supported him for years.

Having served 19 terms in the House, the 65-year-old Rahall qualified for a Congressional pension of about $139,000 a year.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

Political issues

Israel

Rahall has expressed concern about America's relationship with Israel. He said, "Israel can’t continue to occupy, humiliate and destroy the dreams and spirits of the Palestinian people and continue to call itself a democratic state."

Rahall, along with other Lebanese-American lawmakers, expressed concern with a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict without adding language urging restraint against civilian targets. He helped draft a resolution that urged "all parties to protect innocent life and civilian infrastructure." Rahall was one of only 8 House members to vote against a resolution supporting Israel's right to defend itself, which was supported by 410 House members.

Rahall was the only member of the House to oppose the 1993 resolution urging Arab states to end their Arab boycott of Israel. He also pressed the State Department to end a ban on travel to Lebanon; the ban was lifted in 1997.

Mining

Rahall introduced legislation to improve mine safety. Rahall opposed legislation designed to end mountaintop removal mining, a process often used in West Virginia. Rahall's policies involving mountaintop removal mining have been criticized as reflected by author and journalist Jeff Biggers in "The Blog" in The Huffington Post, with the link between mountaintop removal mining and flooding, as well as the billions of pounds of explosives used since 2004, being given as examples.

Environmental issues

Rahall believes that anthropogenic CO₂ emissions are causing global warming, saying to the Register-Herald that denial of climate change is "to just put your head in the sand."

Rahall called the Environmental Protection Agency “callous”, attacked greenhouse gas rule as “disastrous”, and filed legislation to block the president’s climate agenda, but in the summer of 2013 he attended a ceremony to rename the EPA headquarters and has praised EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Rahall, alongside three other Democrats, supported a GOP bill that would limit EPA authority on CO2 emissions, the Energy Tax Prevention Act. He commented on this, saying: “I am dead set against the E.P.A.’s plowing ahead on its own with new regulations to limit greenhouse gases.” He also voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

In 2007, Rahall introduced the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which banned incandescent light bulbs. Despite introducing the legislation, Rahall voted against the bill on final passage. As result of the legislation, as of January 1, 2014, incandescent light bulbs between 40 watts and 150 watts are illegal to manufacture or import.

In 2013, Rahall voted for the Progressive Caucus's budget, which included provisions for a carbon tax. The budget failed to pass.

Foreign policy

Rahall and another Congressman of Arab descent traveled to Syria and ignored State Department policy by meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom Rahall had known for years. Queen Noor of Jordan presented Rahall with the first Najeeb Halaby Award for public service.

Rahall opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Rahall had traveled to Baghdad just before the Iraq War with the intention of convincing Iraqi leaders to allow the U.N. to inspect Iraq's weapons and have access to every site. He said that Tariq Aziz had accepted all of Bush's demands, and that "Bush said the war was not inevitable, but we now know that wasn’t true. Iraqis did allow for complete access but Bush’s mind was already made up. Iraqis were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t .... We were falsely led into this war.”

In 2004, it was reported that Rahall feared that Syria would be attacked by Bush before the November elections. He said that “They’re using the same rhetoric against the Syrians they used against Iraqis.... We now have the Syrian Accountability Act. All this despite the State Department’s admission that Syria helped us capture key al-Qaeda operatives and helped save American lives.” As for Saudi Arabia, Rahall said that the U.S. “wouldn’t dare” attack that country: “The Kingdom has been a key ally for decades.”

Endorsement of Barack Obama

In 2008, Rahall endorsed Barack Obama, saying Obama understands the needs and aspirations of West Virginians. Explaining his position, Rahall cited Senator Byrd, who said "I work for no President. I work with Presidents." In an interview with Keith Olbermann, Rahall said that Obama had the courage and conviction to win the presidency, and that the then-senator was a true agent for change.

Ethical issues

In 2004, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about Rahall and his sister, lobbyist Tanya Rahall. They reported that she made $15,000 per month as a lobbyist for Qatar, and that "the person she frequently lobbies is ... her older brother and one of Qatar's biggest champions in Washington.” Rahall said “our paths cross professionally, but not across any lines appropriately established by law or House rules.” In May 2003, a year after his sister took on Qatar as a client, Rahall sponsored a resolution praising Qatar's "years of democratic reform"; according to one academic study from 2011, "For over three years, the country virtually had its own congressman in Washington, Nick Rahall (D-WV)".

In February 2005, Rahall used Congressional stationery to write a letter to a Fairfax County judge, David Stitt, asking for leniency for his son, Nick Rahall III, who was facing felony robbery charges. According to the House ethics manual: “Official stationery ... may be used only for official purposes." Rahall acknowledged that he should not have used Congressional stationery for his letter, but said it was not the same type that he uses for official or committee business. Rahall added he may have drawn the wrong paper "n the emotions", and that he would reimburse the Treasury Department for the cost of the paper. The United States House Committee on Ethics did not launch an inquiry into the incident.

Crew was one of seven Democrats and twelve Republicans listed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in its annual "Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report" in 2011. Melanie Sloan, CREW's Executive Director, said: "Rep. Rahall abused his position to help his son and sister in clear violation of the House ethics rules." Rahall's spokeswoman said: "There is as little merit to these allegations today as there was then."

Electoral history

West Virginia's 4th congressional district: Results 1976-90

Year		Democrat	Votes	%		Republican	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
1976		Nick Rahall	73,626	46%		F. S. Goodman	28,825	18%		Ken Hechler	Democratic (write-in)	59,067	37%
1978		Nick Rahall	70,035	100%		No candidate
1980		Nick Rahall	117,595	77%		Winton Covey	36,020	23%
1982		Nick Rahall	91,184	81%		Homer Harris	22,054	19%
1984		Nick Rahall	98,919	67%		Jess Shumate	49,474	33%
1986		Nick Rahall	58,217	71%		Martin Miller	23,490	29%
1988		Nick Rahall	78,812	61%		Marianne Brewster	49,753	39%
1990		Nick Rahall	39,948	52%		David Morrill	36,946	48%

West Virginia's 3rd congressional district: Results 1992-2012

Year		Democrat	Votes	%		Republican	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
1992		Nick Rahall	122,279	66%		Ben Waldman	64,012	34%
1994		Nick Rahall	74,967	64%		Ben Waldman	42,382	36%
1996		Nick Rahall	145,550	100%		No candidate
1998		Nick Rahall	78,814	87%		No candidate				Joe Whelan	Libertarian	12,196	13%
2000		Nick Rahall	146,807	91%		No candidate				Jeff Robinson	Libertarian	13,979	9%
2002		Nick Rahall	87,783	70%		Paul Chapman	37,229	30%
2004		Nick Rahall	142,682	65%		Rick Snuffer	76,170	35%
2006		Nick Rahall	92,413	69%		Kim Wolfe	40,820	31%
2008		Nick Rahall	133,522	67%		Marty Gearheart	66,005	33%
2010		Nick Rahall	83,636	56%		Spike Maynard	65,611	44%
2012		Nick Rahall	108,199	54%		Rick Snuffer	92,238	46%
2014		Nick Rahall	62,309	45%		Evan Jenkins	77,170	55%

Personal life

Rahall and his second wife, Melinda Ross of Ashland, Kentucky, married in 2004. They have three children from his previous marriage, and three grandchildren.

In 2008, Rahall appeared on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives which featured Hillbilly Hot Dogs of Lesage, West Virginia. Rahall introduced the hot dog that's named after him on the menu, Rahall's Red Hot Weenie.

In July 2009, Rahall jumped out of a plane to show his support for the coal industry. The event was intended to show the importance of the coal industry to both West Virginia and the United States as a whole. The act confused some, who questioned the reasoning behind the jump. It was noted that Rahall is involved with coal lobbyists and also receives contributions from the airline industry.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]