Rep. Capito tosses hat in 2014 Senate ring

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CHARLESTON, W.Va., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., formally announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va.

"I am committed to do what is right for the people of West Virginia over the next two years," Capito said during a news conference in Charleston. "We need to stand up against the EPA's [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] crusade to dictate energy policy to the detriment of West Virginia."

Capito, who celebrated her 59th birthday Monday, said she won't begin to actively campaign for Senate seat, up in 2014, immediately, The Charleston Gazette reported.

Rockefeller, 75, said Capito alerted him of her plans last week. The five-term Democrat hasn't indicated whether he plans to seek re-election in 2014.

He and the state Democratic Party's chairman instead referred to how West Virginians have gone through seven elections in less than three years. Rockefeller said he's focusing on the federal budget and other pressing issues.

Both Rockefeller and Capito said voters are weary of continual campaigning, the Gazette said.

"Voters are fatigued. It is time to focus on agreement and avoid disruptive political debates," she said.

"Beyond that big question, everyone I talk to in West Virginia is tired of the non-stop campaigning," Rockefeller said in a statement. "West Virginians just want us to do our jobs, and for me that means focusing full-time on the serious issues at hand. Politics can wait."

Capito, the daughter of former Gov. Arch Moore, was first elected to Congress in 2000 and was elected to her seventh term this year.

Rockefeller, a former West Virginia governor and secretary of state, was first elected to U.S. Senate in 1984.