Former Rep. David B. McKinley, a West Virginia Republican who made support of the coal industry one of his highest priorities, died Friday at his home in Wheeling, W.Va. He was 79. Born in Wheeling on March 28, 1947, McKinley was a seventh-generation West Virginian whose ancestors settled in the area in the 1760s. That heritage imbued him with a deep, personal care for the district he served for 12 years in Congress. During his six terms in Congress, from 2011 to 2023, McKinley fought hard for the coal industry and its miners. The industry had long been key to his home state’s economy but had been on the downturn before he entered the national political arena because of competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources. He worked to provide funding for retired miners and resisted environmental regulations he saw as harmful to the industry. A fellow West Virginian, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, remembered McKinley in a statement Friday, calling him a “fighter.” “Not only did David fight for his principles and the causes he believed in, but he also fought hardest for his cherished West Virginia,” Capito said. “His dedication and commitment to our coal miners was second to none, and as the only licensed engineer in Congress during his time in the House of Representatives, he brought thorough analysis to the legislative process.” McKinley studied engineering at Purdue University, graduating in 1969, and later founded an architectural and engineering company named McKinley and Associates that he ran for more than 44 years. That experience, along with a 15-year stint in the West Virginia House of Delegates, would inform the work McKinley did in Congress, particularly on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He was elected to the House in 2010 by a margin of just 1,440 votes. After that, he was reelected easily until the 2022 midterm cycle, when he lost the GOP primary for West Virginia’s redrawn 2nd District against fellow incumbent, former Rep. Alex X. Mooney. McKinley was known as a fiscal conservative who generally supported the priorities of the Republican Party, but he notably broke ranks on several high-profile votes. He was one of 35 Republicans to vote for the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, telling West Virginia’s MetroNews that Congress has always investigated major events and that “January 6 should be no different.” And during the 117th Congress, he was one of just 13 Republicans to support a bipartisan infrastructure package, saying at the time that his state needed help to restore an aging infrastructure. “Tonight, instead of playing politics, I put America and West Virginia first,” he said in a statement after the vote. That devotion to his constituents is part of how McKinley will be remembered. “David McKinley dedicated his life to the people of West Virginia,” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said in a statement Friday. “He built a well-respected West Virginia company, served with distinction in the State Legislature, led the West Virginia Republican Party, and represented our state well in the United States Congress,” Moore said. “With his passing, David McKinley leaves behind a towering legacy and a grateful state.” He is survived by his wife, Mary, their four children and six grandchildren. Erika Chan contributed to this report.
