West Virginia has the third most-potent congressional delegation in the country, according to the latest "Power Rankings" by Congress.org that puts it behind North Dakota and Nevada.
But only the Flickertail State had outranked West Virginia in the 2007 edition of the survey, which seeks to measure "many of those factors that both the public and official Washington have come to recognize as the levers and characteristics of power."
Each member of the delegation received a higher score than last year, but in some cases were displaced by colleagues who saw greater improvement between surveys:
- Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., fell from 3rd to 12th. His former spot is now held by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. But Byrd also "received positive 'Sizzle' points because he or she has power beyond ordinary measurable factors."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., fell from 13th to 21st.
- Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, rose from 64th to 41st. While he "has good committee assignments that reflect greater influence or longer tenure," he also "received negative 'Fizzle' points due to controversy/scandal."
- Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, leaped from 421st to 225th. Her scored nearly tripled since 2007, when the GOP ceded control of the House. She also ranked 54th in her party.
- Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, improved slightly from 22nd to 20th. West Virginia's top-ranking House member, he also placed 18th among that chamber's Democrats.
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