West Virginia Republican Rep. David McKinley says his support for the Senate candidacy of his GOP colleague Rep. Shelley Moore Capito depends on her votes in the coming months.

"I think Shelley, as long as she continues to vote the way she has, I think she's someone I'll be very comfortable supporting," McKinley said in an interview.

He did not elaborate on the voting record he would like her to have, but in a recent interview on the subject he stressed the need for fiscal responsibility.

Groups such as Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund, once associated with former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), have already expressed concerns about Capito's commitment to conservative principles.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller's (D-W.Va.) announcement last week that he will not seek re-election in 2014 also has several Democrats thinking about their own futures (Greenwire, Jan. 11).

West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D) is considering a run. Attorney Carte Goodwin (D), who served in the Senate in 2010 immediately after Sen. Robert Byrd's death, has not ruled out a run, according to state media reports.

Rep. Nick Rahall, the only Democrat from West Virginia in the House, said he will decide whether to throw his hat into the ring during the middle of the year. His state's influence in Congress will be a factor, he said.

"Obviously, [Rockefeller's] decision to leave the Senate, coupled with the loss of Sen. Byrd, has been devastating to the state of West Virginia and our seniority" in the Senate, he said.

Voting registration totals from October show more than 600,000 registered Democrats in the state, compared with about 354,000 registered Republicans.

However, the state has been trending conservative even as Democrats do well in local elections, particularly in southern counties. The GOP thinks it has a good chance for a Senate pickup in the Mountain State.

Rahall said he "strongly believes" that Democrats can hold the seat as long as they find the "right candidate." He said, "You got to represent West Virginia's values."