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Carol Miller (politician)

Carol Miller (née Devine; born November 4, 1950) is an American farmer, educator, and politician who has represented West Virginia's 1st congressional district since 2019. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 2019 to 2023, covers the southern half of the state, including Huntington, Charleston, Bluefield, and Beckley.

Miller represented the 15th district in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2007 to 2013, and the 16th district from 2013 to 2019. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Education

Miller earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina.

West Virginia House of Delegates

Challenging District 15 Democratic representatives Margarette Leach, Kevin Craig, and Jim Morgan, Miller placed in the four-way three-selectee 2004 Republican primary, but lost the six-way three-position general election. (All the incumbents were reelected.)

Challenging the incumbents again, Miller placed in the six-way three-selectee 2006 Republican primary and was elected in the six-way three-position general election, unseating Leach. Craig and Morgan were reelected.

Miller placed first in the three-way Republican primary on May 13, 2008, with 2,116 votes (43.8%). She then placed third in the six-way three-position general election, with 8,163 votes (18.2%), behind Craig and Morgan and ahead of non-selectee candidates Democrat Carl Eastham, and Republicans James Carden and Paula Stewart.

Miller placed first in the three-way Republican primary on May 11, 2010, with 1,505 votes (44.4%). She then placed second in the six-way three-position general election, with 6,601 votes (19.7%), behind Craig and ahead of Morgan and non-selectee candidates Democrat Matthew Woelfel, and Republicans Patrick Lucas and Douglas Franklin.

With all three incumbent District 15 representatives redistricted to District 16, Miller placed first in the Republican primary on May 8, 2012, with 1,745 votes (19.6%). She then placed second in the five-way three-position general election, with 8,415 votes (21.8%), behind Craig and ahead of Morgan and non-selectee candidates Democrat Sean Hornbuckle and Republican Mike Davis.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

On May 8, 2017, incumbent U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins announced his intention to run against incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin. In August 2017, Miller announced her intention to run to fill Jenkins's seat.

On May 8, 2018, Miller defeated State Delegate Rupie Phillips and State Delegate Marty Gearheart. She received 23.8% of the vote, and won three of the 18 counties in the district. Miller went on to face State Senator Richard Ojeda.

Many polling outlets considered this race Lean Republican or a tossup. On November 6, Miller defeated Ojeda with 56.4% of the vote, winning all but two counties in the district. Upon election, she became the first woman to represent West Virginia's 3rd congressional district and the only Republican woman to be elected to an open seat in 2018.

2020

Miller was reelected, defeating Russell Siegel in the Republican primary and Hilary Turner in the general election with 71.3% of the vote.

2022

As a result of redistricting after the 2020 United States Census, Miller's district was renumbered as the 1st district. With West Virginia losing a district, the state ended its longstanding scheme of numbering districts from north to south, instead having the 1st district in the south and the 2nd district in the north. Miller retained all the counties in the old 3rd, while gaining the ten southernmost counties from the old 2nd (including Kanawha County, home to Charleston) and one county from the old 1st. She announced on the day the map was finalized that she would run for reelection in the new 1st district. On May 10, 2022, she won the Republican primary with 66% of the vote. She defeated perennial candidate Lacy Watson in the general election with 66.7% of the vote.

Tenure

In December 2020, Miller was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, auto dealerships owned by Miller's husband received loans of over $3 million as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); the loans were later forgiven. Miller voted against the TRUTH Act (H.R. 6782), a bill that would have required public disclosure of companies that received funds through the bailout program.

Miller opposes free trade and supports an America First policy approach on trade that ends trade deals that send jobs overseas.

Committee assignments

Committee on Ways and Means
- Subcommittee on Trade
- Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

Republican Main Street Partnership
U.S.-Japan Caucus
Congressional Energy Export Caucus
Congressional Coal Caucus
Congressional Western Caucus
Congressional Friends of Ecuador Caucus
Congressional Appalachian Caucus
Congressional Mental Health Caucus
Congressional India and Indian American Caucus
Congressional STARBASE Caucus

Personal life

Miller is a Baptist.

Miller owns a bison farm that she personally managed until she was elected to Congress.

While serving in the House of Delegates, Miller taught a manners class the elementary schools of Huntington. While doing that, she earned the nickname "Miss Manners".

Miller’s son, Chris Miller, is running for Governor of West Virginia in the 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election, running for the term-limited seat of incumbent Jim Justice.