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{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
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|predecessor2 = [[George Miller (California politician)|George Miller]]
|successor2 = [[Don Young]]
|office3 = Member of the <br />[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br />from [[West Virginia]]
|term_start3 = January 3, 1977
|term_end3 = January 3, 2015
|predecessor3 = [[Ken Hechler]]
|successor3 = [[Evan Jenkins (politician)|Evan Jenkins]]
|constituency3 = {{ushr|WV|4|4th district}} (1977–1993)<br />{{ushr|WV|3|3rd district}} (1993–2015)
|birth_name = Nicholas Joseph Rahall II
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|5|20}}
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|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = Melinda Rahall (Second wife)
|education = [[Duke University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[George Washington University]]
|module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Rep. Nick Rahall Speaks on the 2006 Sago Mine Disaster.ogg|title=Nick Rahall's voice|type=speech|description=Rahall speaks on the [[2006 Sago Mine disaster]]<br />Recorded February 8, 2006}}
}}
'''Nicholas Joseph Rahall II''' ({{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|'|h|ɑː|l}} {{Respell|RAY|hall}}; born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] who served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States House of Representatives from the state of [[West Virginia]].
He began his political service in the early 1970s working in the cloak room of the U.S. Senate, as a staff member in the Senate Office of the Majority Whip from
His district included the southern, coal-dominated portion of the state,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/news/article/west-virginia-senate-democrats-look-for-winner|title=West Virginia Senate: Democrats Look for Winner|publisher=[[The Rothenberg Political Report]]|author=Nathan L. Gonzales|date=January 15, 2013|access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref> including [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]], [[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]], and [[Beckley, West Virginia|Beckley]]. Rahall was the Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]].
Rahall lost
==Early life, education, and early career==
Rahall was born in [[Beckley, West Virginia]], the son of Mary Alice and Nicholas Joseph Rahall.<ref name=candidate>{{cite web|url=http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/nick-rahall--WV-H|title=Election 2012; Nick Rahall (D); U.S. Representative – WV3|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hin.stparchive.com/Archive/HIN/HIN04231996P01.php|title=Page 1|date=April 23, 1996}}</ref> He is a [[Presbyterian]] of
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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.register-herald.com/news/article_60c4bdf6-db8c-5d70-b7fe-76c3b9b96cf8.html?mode=jqm|title=Former W.Va. governor Hulett Smith passes at 93|author= Mannix Porterfield|work=Register Herald|date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name=page>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/40957541|page=26|work=Beckley Post-Herald; The Raleigh Register from Beckley, West Virginia|date=November 14, 1971|title=WWNR|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>
Rahall graduated in 1971 from [[Duke University]]. He attended graduate school at the [[George Washington University]], but did not graduate.<ref name=candidate/> He then worked as a sales rep for his family's radio station, WWNR.<ref name=candidate/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pollvault.com/polls/candidate/33754|title=Nick Rahall for The United States House of Representatives WV3|access-date=October 2, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082743/https://www.pollvault.com/polls/candidate/33754|url-status=dead}}</ref> He served as president of the Mountaineer Tour and Travel Agency in 1974, and was president of West Virginia Broadcasting.<ref name=candidate/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDIR-2014-02-18/html/CDIR-2014-02-18-WV-H-3.htm|title=Congressional Directory for the 113th Congress (2013–14), February 2014|pages=289–90|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref>
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In 1978, Hechler challenged Rahall in the Democratic primary, and Rahall won with 56% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=59888|title= WV District 4 – D Primary Race|date=May 9, 1978|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref> He was re-elected 17 times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=1937|title=Candidate – Nick Joe Rahall II|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=375887|title=WV District 4 – D Primary Race|date=May 8, 1990|publisher=Our Campaigns|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>
In 1990,
{{clear|left}}
;2010
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;2012
{{See also|2012 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia#District 3}}
In the 2012 election, Rahall defeated Republican [[Rick Snuffer]] with 53.5% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|title=West Virginia Congressional District 3 election results|url=http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/west-virginia/house/3/|work=Decision 2012|date=December 2, 2011 |publisher=NBC News|access-date=May 23, 2014}}</ref> His eight-point margin of victory was his narrowest since 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=
;2014
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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.<ref name=nra/> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wvmetronews.com/2014/10/02/looking-into-the-crystal-ball/|title= Looking into the Crystal Ball|publisher=West Virginia Metro News|date=October 2, 2014|access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/ratings/house|title=House Ratings|publisher= The Rothenberg Political Report|access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref> The Rahall campaign outspent the Jenkins campaign in the election by a two-to-one ratio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/midterm-elections-2014-live-updates/story?id=26570502|title=Republicans Projected To Seize Control Of The Senate: 2014 Midterm Elections Results Live|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref>
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.<ref name="thehill.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=
Having served 19 terms in the House, the 65-year-old Rahall qualified for a [[Congressional pension]] of about $139,000 a year.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://money.cnn.com/2014/11/05/retirement/congressional-pensions |title= Fat pensions for outgoing lawmakers | first= Chris |last=Isidore |work= [[CNNMoney]] | date= November 6, 2014 | access-date= November 6, 2014}}</ref>
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===Mining===
In 2010 Rahall introduced legislation to improve mine safety.<ref
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.<ref name="Ansel Adams">{{cite news|title=Should Wilderness Society Strip US Rep. Nick Rahall of the Ansel Adams Award?|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/should-wilderness-society_b_213108.html|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=July 10, 2009|first=Jeff|last=Biggers}}</ref>
===Environmental issues===
Rahall accepts anthropogenic [[climate change]] as real and has stated that to reject the [[Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus regarding it]] is "to just put your head in the sand."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x935815715/U-S-HOUSE-CANDIDATE-CONVERSATIONS-Nick-Rahall|title=U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE CONVERSATIONS — Nick Rahall|date=October 14, 2010 |publisher=Register Herald|access-date=October 14, 2010}}</ref>
Rahall called the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] "callous", attacked [[Barack Obama]]'s 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]].<ref name=politico/> 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."<ref name=wapo1>{{cite
In 2007, Rahall introduced the [[Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007]], which banned [[incandescent light bulb]]s. Despite introducing the legislation, Rahall voted against the bill on final passage. As a result of the legislation, as of January 1, 2014, incandescent light bulbs between 40 watts and 150 watts are illegal to manufacture or import.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
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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."<ref name=WRMEA>{{cite web|last=Hanley|first=Delinda|title=Congressman Nick Rahall Assesses Impact Of Iraq and Israel on U.S. Elections|url=http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/262/5275-congressman-nick-rahall-assesses-impact-of-iraq-and-israel-on-us-elections.html|date= June 2004|pages=29, 59|publisher=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs|access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref>
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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501324.html?nav=rss_politics |title=Congress Cautioned On Support of Israel |
Rahall was the only member of the House to oppose the 1993 resolution urging Arab states to end their [[Arab boycott of Israel]].<ref name=sib/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXLHAAAAQBAJ&q=nick+rahall+israel&pg=PA91|author=Sarah Stern|title=Saudi Arabia and the Global Islamic Terrorist Network: America and the West's Fatal Embrace|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |date= 2011|access-date=October 2, 2014|isbn=9780230370715}}</ref>
Rahall was the most senior of five [[Arab American]] lawmakers on Capitol Hill.<ref name=sib>{{cite web|url=https://
===Endorsement of Barack Obama===
In 2008, Rahall endorsed [[Barack Obama]], saying Obama
| title = Rahall endorses Barack Obama
| publisher = The Herald Dispatch
| date = March 6, 2008
| url = http://www.herald-dispatch.com/elections/x1487405479
| access-date = November 18, 2013}}</ref> Explaining his position, Rahall cited Senator Byrd, who said "I work for no President. I work with Presidents."<ref name="CSPAN">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/CSPAN_20101028_210000_U.S._House_of_Representatives|title=
===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."<ref name=sib/> 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 [Qatar] virtually had its own congressman in Washington, Nick Rahall (D-WV)".<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXLHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|title=Saudi Arabia and the Global Islamic Terrorist Network|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|chapter=The Saudi Penetration into American NGOs|first1=Kyle|last1=Shiderer|first2=Ilan|last2=Weinglass|date=November 3, 2011|pages=81–104|isbn=9780230370715|editor1-first=Sarah|editor1-last=Stern|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>
In February 2005, Rahall used Congressional stationery to write a letter to a [[Fairfax County, Virginia|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 "[i]n the emotions", and that he would reimburse the Treasury Department for the cost of the paper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41002.html|title=Questions raised about Nick Rahall helping son|publisher=Politico|author=John Bresnahan|date=August 12, 2010 |access-date=August 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOM2iJE7aLkxUUMwsRwn0VcNeCbwD9HI7LOG0|title=Democrat Nick Rahall misused official stationery|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=August 13, 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/100592614.html|title=Rahall Admits to Using Congressional Stationary to ask Judge for Favor|date=August 12, 2010|publisher=WSAZ News Channel 3|access-date=October 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006064930/http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/100592614.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[United States House Committee on Ethics]] did not launch an inquiry into the incident.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pergram|first=Chad|title=Second Congressman allegedly misuses stationary|publisher=Fox News|date=August 12, 2010|url=http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/12/second-congressman-allegedly-misuses-house-stationery|access-date=October 16, 2010|archive-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726125306/http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/12/second-congressman-allegedly-misuses-house-stationery|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Rahall 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.<ref name=most>{{cite web|url=http://www.charlestondailymail.com/News/statenews/201109203086|title=Rahall on list of most corrupt Congresspeople|date=September 21, 2011|author=Jared Hunt|publisher=Charleston Daily Mail|access-date=October 3, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006120858/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/News/statenews/201109203086|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rep.+Nick+Rahall+%28D-WV%29+Named+One+of+the+Most+Corrupt+Members+of...-a0267424762|title=Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) Named One of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress|date=2011|access-date=October 3, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006081959/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rep.+Nick+Rahall+%28D-WV%29+Named+One+of+the+Most+Corrupt+Members+of...-a0267424762|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Melanie Sloan]], CREW's
==Electoral history==
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|{{party shading/Democratic}} |46%
|
|{{party shading/Republican}} |
|{{party shading/Republican}} |28,825
|{{party shading/Republican}} |18%
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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.<ref name="Plane for Coal">{{cite news|title=Nick Rahall Jumps From a Plane for Coal. Here's Why.|url=http://washingtonindependent.com/51792/nick-rahall-jumps-from-a-plane-for-coal-heres-why|newspaper=Washington Independent|date=July 20, 2009|access-date=August 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828162304/http://washingtonindependent.com/51792/nick-rahall-jumps-from-a-plane-for-coal-heres-why|archive-date=August 28, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coal Lobby">{{cite news|title=Rep. Nick Rahall Jumps Out Of A Plane For The Coal Lobby|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/rep-nick-rahall-jumps-out_n_241419.html|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=August 20, 2009|first=Katherine|last=Goldstein}}</ref>
After leaving office, he became involved in political reform efforts, including joining nine other former members of Congress to co-author a 2021 opinion editorial advocating reforms of Congress.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/rahall-graves-we-know-congress-needs-reform-opinion/article_4d2ac1df-9a73-5d2d-8c84-bfdbf4277157.html | title=We Know Congress Needs Reform | newspaper=West Virginia Gazette| date=August 13, 2021 }}</ref>
==See also==
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==External links==
*[[West Virginia & Regional History Center]] at [[West Virginia University]], [https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/4 Congressman Nick J. Rahall II papers]
*{{Curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/West_Virginia/Government/Federal/US_House_of_Representatives/Nick_Rahall_%5BD-3%5D}}
* {{CongLinks | congbio=r000011 | votesmart=27133 | fec=H6WV04057 | congress=nick-rahall/940 }}<!--
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahall, Nick}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:21st-century American
[[Category:American politicians of Lebanese descent]]
[[Category:
[[Category:American radio executives]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Beckley, West Virginia]]
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[[Category:Politicians from Beckley, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia) alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century West Virginia politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century West Virginia politicians]]
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