CHARLESTON — Reps. Alex Mooney and Carol Miller are heading into the November general election with a significant money advantage over their Democratic opponents.

Candidates for Congress filed their July quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission last week. The report covers April 21 through June 30. Part of the reporting period overlapped with the May 10 party primaries in West Virginia.

In the northern 2nd District, Mooney, R-W.Va., raised $272,112 during the quarter, spending $601,154 between April and June, leaving him with $558,520 in cash on hand. During the election cycle to date, Mooney raised more than $1.4 million and spent more than $3.3 million.

During the quarter, Mooney spent $13,302 with HSP Direct, one of several direct mail firms the campaign did business with during the quarter. Nicole Hall, CEO for HSP Direct, donated $2,000 to Mooney on May 2.

According to a second report released May 23 by the Office of Congressional Ethics, investigators allege that Mooney may have accepted a trip to Aruba from HSP Direct at reduced prices, including lodging at the Ritz-Carlton. According to the report, the trip had an estimated cost of more than $10,000 for the week-long vacation for Mooney and his family. Mooney has since claimed that he reimbursed HSP for the full cost of the trip.

Mooney also was allowed to use a house owned by HSP and near Capitol Hill for congressional and campaign business. Investigators alleged a connection between Mooney’s use of HSP as a vendor and HSP paying for his Aruba vacation and use of their Capitol Hill house.

According to testimony from HSP’s legal counsel, Mooney and HSP partner and chairman Jamie Hogan have been friends for 20 years. Since 2015, Mooney’s campaign has accepted more than $17,000 in political donations from HSP’s political action committee, with Hogan and his wife donating more than $28,000 to Mooney since 2016.

Since 2020, the Mooney campaign has spent more than $20,000 with HSP, with $7,100 spent with HSP between January and March according to Mooney’s April quarterly FEC report.

According to the FEC July quarterly report, the Mooney campaign spent $16,873 with the Wiley Rein law firm for legal fees. The Alex Mooney Legal Defense Fund, established last December to cover expenses related to the OCE and House Ethics Committee investigations, gave $15,000 to the campaign to offset previously paid legal fees. According to the most recent report filed with the Legislative Resources Center, the fund has more than $136,000.

Mooney, who currently serves the old 2nd District, defeated current 1st District Rep. David McKinley in the new 2nd District Republican primary on May 10 with 54 percent of the vote compared to McKinley’s 36 percent.

During the same quarter, McKinley raised $142,311, but refunded $196,750 in donations. The McKinley campaign spent $567,557 during the three-month period, leaving him with $108,279 in cash on hand. McKinley raised more than $1.4 million during the election cycle and spent more than $2.5 million.

Mooney’s Democratic challenger, Barry Wendell, has a long way to go to catch up to Mooney’s money advantage. According to his quarterly report, Wendell raised $3,997, spent $3,031, and has $2,939 in cash on hand. For the election cycle-to-date, Wendell raised $6,519 and spent $3,580.

In the new southern 1st Congressional District, current 3rd District Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., raised $152,735 during the quarter, spent $133,476, leaving her with $243,117 in cash on hand. During the election cycle-to-date, Miller raised $798,128 and spent $489,121.

No data was available for Miller’s Democratic opponent, Lacy Watson. According to the FEC, candidate committees only have to file quarterly electronic reports if they receive more than $50,000 in donations during a calendar year or make expenditures in excess of $50,000.