MORGANTOWN — Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, announced Monday he will not seek reelection in 2024.
Caputo represents the 13th Senate District, which spans the most-populous portions of Marion and Monongalia counties along the I-79 corridor.
“It has been truly humbling that the people of my region have shown such faith in me all these years, and I have been extremely proud to represent them,” Caputo said in his announcement. “I intend to work hard for the 13th Senate District through the end of 2024, but then it’s time for me to close this chapter of my public service.”
Caputo first ran for Senate in 2020 after serving in the House of Delegates for 13 terms, starting in 1997.
Outside the Capitol, Caputo worked as a coal miner, then in 1996 began working for the United Mine Workers of America, where he served as the UMWA’s International District 31 vice president before retiring in 2018. He has held many other positions with various labor and community organizations in Marion County and beyond, and still serves as vice president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO.
On the House and Senate floors, Caputo could deliver fiery, passionate speeches, but he said in his Monday announcement that the really important work was representing his constituents.
“From the outside it may look like the Legislature is all about political fights and arguments, but the vast majority of what we do during session involves working together to find ways to help our people back home,” he said.
“Very little of my legislative work has had to do with partisan politics,” he said. “Those issues always got the limelight, but at the end of the day it has always been about serving the people of this region and working families throughout the state.
“I believe that’s why my constituents continued sending me back to Charleston despite the changing political climate,” he said. Caputo served as House majority whip until the Republicans gained the majority in both chambers in the 2014 election. “I have always said that this seat belongs to the people, and it has been the honor of my life to be their voice in Charleston.”
UMWA President Cecil Roberts said Caputo will go down in history as one of West Virginia’s most capable and effective legislators, especially where working families are concerned.
“His advocacy and leadership in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate meant that workers and their communities could always count on a strong voice on their side, and a strong commitment to their well-being,” Roberts said. “Mike’s constituents are much better off for his service. From improving and upgrading transportation, to creating new jobs, to protecting existing jobs, Mike Caputo put workers and families in North-Central West Virginia first, and he delivered for them.”
Roberts continued, “He was always an outspoken advocate for coal mining and especially coal miners, which he was for decades. Mike has always known that mining can be made safe and the use of coal can be made environmentally responsible. Even though the political winds often blew hard around him, he never wavered from that stance. … I wish him, his wife Tina and his children and grandchildren much happiness and joy in a well-earned retirement.”
West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said Caputo’s advocacy on behalf of West Virginia workers is unparalleled. “Mike Caputo’s support for working families over his legislative career is legendary. His voting record on our issues is 127 right and zero wrong, which means that every time working families needed a voice, Mike Caputo was there for them. Although I’m happy for him and his chance to spend more time with his family, the void he’s leaving behind will be impossible to fill. And personally, I’ll miss my friend.”
Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the Senate, 31-3. The other two Democrats represent Cabell and Wayne counties.
The 13th Senate District is represented by one senator from each county, and Caputo’s is the Marion seat. The secretary of state’s office said Monday that those seeking nomination to succeed him will have to be Marion County residents.
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