Moore, Parsi vie for West Virginia's 2nd District seat in Congress - WTOV

With the general election just three days away, Republican incumbent Riley Moore and Democratic challenger Ace Parsi are locked in a sharp contest to represent West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in Washington, D.C., WTOV reported.

The Record and the Race in West Virginia’s 2nd District

Moore has represented the district since taking office in 2025. Before his service in the U.S. House, he worked as the state treasurer of West Virginia and served as a delegate in the state legislature. As voters weigh their options in the closing days of the campaign, Moore points directly to his legislative track record as proof of his conservative philosophy.

“Well, I have a proven record, obviously, as a fighter for West Virginia and a conservative fighter for our values, not only as a congressman but as a state treasurer and also a delegate in the state legislature,” Moore said, according to WTOV. “I think the record speaks for itself and I’d love to be able to continue the work. We’re just getting started and we’ve had a lot of success so far.”

Ace Parsi describes himself as "personally pretty against AI." The Democrat is running an uphill race against Republican Rep. Riley Moore in ruby-red West Virginia and has drafted a legislative proposal to block new data centers that don't have buy-in from constituents.…

— https://x.com/CBSNews/status/2116116654870368679

Parsi, who lives in Morgantown but was born in Iran before fleeing the country with his family when he was a child, approaches the contest from a different vantage point. Married with an 11-year-old daughter, Parsi frequently draws on his family’s financial struggles during his upbringing when talking with voters on the campaign trail. According to WTOV, those early experiences shape his perspective on the economic pressures facing modern households.

“You know, when I talk to people on the trail and they tell me about how much they’re struggling financially, it reminds me of growing up,” Parsi said. “So my mother supported our family with jobs. She had sewing and babysitting and my older brother worked at a grocery store. So, you know, I only buy clothes at thrift stores still. I go to several grocery stores. So the challenges that people are experiencing, it hits me in terms of how I grew up.”

Clashing Views on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The policy debate between the two candidates has centered heavily on federal legislation and its direct impact on local families. During a debate hosted by WRNR in Martinsburg twenty days prior to the election, the candidates sparred over the consequences of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, WV Public reported.

Moore defended the act—which was passed on July 4, 2025—by arguing that it brings necessary relief to job creators and retirees. He emphasized provisions that make certain tax cuts permanent, reduce taxes on tips and other income, expand the child tax credit, and protect Social Security income for retirees.

Parsi offered a sharply contrasting view of the same legislation. WV Public reported that Parsi criticized the act for containing steep spending reductions, projecting that it would cut $8 billion from Medicaid over the next ten years alongside significant cuts to SNAP benefits.

“My opponent would have you believe that this was a bill just to reduce tips and social security taxes,” Parsi said during the Martinsburg debate, as reported by WV Public. “If that were the case, believe me, I would be right there with him. This thing is gonna cut $8 billion of Medicaid over the course of the next 10 years. It’s gonna cut SNAP benefits. This is the biggest corporate tax giveaway in history, and he wants us to believe that this is a small business plan, it’s just not.”

If elected, Parsi stated that his primary goal would be lowering prices and unhooking what he terms a legislative “time bomb” of upcoming entitlement cuts. Meanwhile, Moore outlined plans to secure additional federal funding for local water, road, and infrastructure projects if voters return him to Washington.

Second Amendment Protections and Local Priorities

On the campaign trail, Moore has also highlighted his legislative work protecting the Second Amendment. He pointed specifically to a measure that recently passed the House, which was modeled on state-level legislation designed to prevent financial institutions from tracking purchases of firearms and ammunition.

West Virginia Congressional Candidate Ace Parsi Talks Town Halls

“Well, one actually just passed the House just recently, and this one protects individuals’ Second Amendment rights,” Moore told WTOV. “And it’s a piece of legislation actually done in the state legislature, and it prevents financial institutions from tracking the purchases of guns and ammunition, and which we think they have been using to create a backdoor national gun registry, which no one wants that. That’s a real invasion of privacy and violates Second Amendment.”

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Beyond fiscal and constitutional debates, the campaign has featured sharp exchanges over public engagement. WV Public reported that Parsi criticized Moore for not attending certain public forums, while Moore countered by characterizing his opponent as a professional protester who frequently demonstrated outside his Morgantown office. Parsi maintained that he has not participated in those demonstrations for over a year.

As the final weekend of the 2026 election cycle unfolds, voters in West Virginia’s 2nd District face a definitive choice between Moore’s conservative incumbent record and Parsi’s platform centered on affordability and economic relief.