Editing Nick Rahall (section)

{{Short description|American politician (born 1949)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Nick Rahall
|image         = Nick Rahall.jpg
|office        = Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|House Transportation Committee]]
|term_start    = January 3, 2011
|term_end      = January 3, 2015
|predecessor   = [[John Mica]]
|successor     = [[Peter DeFazio]]
|office1       = Chair of the [[United States House Committee on Natural Resources|House Natural Resources Committee]]
|term_start1   = January 3, 2007
|term_end1     = January 3, 2011
|predecessor1  = [[Richard Pombo]]
|successor1    = [[Doc Hastings]]
|office2       = Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Natural Resources|House Natural Resources Committee]]
|term_start2   = January 3, 2001
|term_end2     = January 3, 2007
|predecessor2  = [[George Miller (California politician)|George Miller]]
|successor2    = [[Don Young]]
|office3       = Member of the <br />[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br />from [[West Virginia]]
|term_start3   = January 3, 1977
|term_end3     = January 3, 2015
|predecessor3  = [[Ken Hechler]]
|successor3    = [[Evan Jenkins (politician)|Evan Jenkins]]
|constituency3 = {{ushr|WV|4|4th district}} (1977–1993)<br />{{ushr|WV|3|3rd district}} (1993–2015)
|birth_name    = Nicholas Joseph Rahall II
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1949|5|20}}
|birth_place   = [[Beckley, West Virginia]], U.S.
|death_date    = 
|death_place   = 
|party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse        = Melinda Rahall (Second wife)
|education     = [[Duke University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[George Washington University]]
|module        = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Rep. Nick Rahall Speaks on the 2006 Sago Mine Disaster.ogg|title=Nick Rahall's voice|type=speech|description=Rahall speaks on the [[2006 Sago Mine disaster]]<br />Recorded February 8, 2006}}
}}
'''Nicholas Joseph Rahall II''' ({{IPAc-en|r|eɪ|'|h|ɑː|l}} {{Respell|RAY|hall}}; born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] who served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States House of Representatives from the state of [[West Virginia]].

He began his political service in the early 1970s working in the cloak room of the U.S. Senate, as a staff member in the Senate Office of the Majority Whip from 1971–1974, and as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1972 and 1976. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 to represent the now-defunct [[West Virginia's 4th congressional district|4th congressional district]]. He became the representative for the [[West Virginia's 3rd congressional district|3rd congressional district]] when reapportionment was completed following the 1990 census. He was re-elected for nineteen terms, serving from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 2015.

His district included the southern, coal-dominated portion of the state,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.com/news/article/west-virginia-senate-democrats-look-for-winner|title=West Virginia Senate: Democrats Look for Winner|publisher=[[The Rothenberg Political Report]]|author=Nathan L. Gonzales|date=January 15, 2013|access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref> including [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]], [[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]], and [[Beckley, West Virginia|Beckley]]. Rahall was the Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]].

Rahall lost re-election in 2014 to [[Evan Jenkins (politician)|Evan Jenkins]].<ref name="thehill.com">{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/222908-rahall-loses-house-seat-in-west-virginia/|title=Dem Rahall loses House seat after 38 years|author=Timothy Cama|work=The Hill|date=November 5, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=results>{{cite news|title=Mooney wins crowded GOP House primary; Capito, Tennant to face off in W.Va. Senate race|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mooney-wins-crowded-gop-house-primary-capito-tennant-to-face-off-in-w-va-senate-race|access-date=May 23, 2014|publisher=Fox News|date=May 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name=retire>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/202754-report-rahall-considered-retirement/|title=Report: Rep. Nick Rahall considered retirement|author=Kyle Balluck|work=The Hill|date=April 6, 2014|access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref> {{As of|{{CURRENTYEAR}}}}, he is the last Democrat to have represented [[West Virginia]] in the [[US House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].