Although John McCain won the district with 58% of the vote in 2008, Mollohan had run unopposed that same year, highlighting Democratic strength amidst changing coalitions.

Initially, few saw Oliverio as having a credible chance, owing to his late entry into the race, and his decision to run as a more conservative candidate.

[4] Mollohan had faced ethics questions for years on whether he had given earmarks to businesses owned by his friends, earning him criticism from Oliverio as "one of the most corrupt congressmen" and a creature of Washington.

McKinley emerged as the establishment favorite against former state senator Sarah Minear, and both spent sizable amounts of their own money on the race.

Warner was seen as likely to siphon votes from Minear, though in the last days of the race, he faced scrutiny for allegations that his businesses owed nearly $3 million in taxes.

[15] In a year that saw a strong anti-incumbent trend, Oliverio's outsider status was a boon to him, and to some strategists, this made him a stronger candidate than Mollohan would have been.

For one, his refusal to outright back Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House was a sticking point among Democratic leaders, and he would eventually shift away from this rhetoric in the late stages of the campaign.

This conservative[2] district, which stretched from metro Charleston in western West Virginia to the Potomac River in the eastern region of the state, has been represented by Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito since 2001.

She faced Democratic nominee Virginia Lynch Graf and Constitution Party candidate Phil Hudok in the general election, whom she was able to defeat in an overwhelming landslide to win a sixth term in Congress.

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall had represented this conservative-leaning[2] district, based in the southern portion of the state since he was initially elected in 1976.

[32] The only primary challenger he would face was Bruce Barilla, who criticized Rahall's "support" for Barack Obama, and his vote for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr.