Mike Callaghan is a former Assistant United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Attorney and a politician. In 2006, he was the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nominee for West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

's Second Congressional District

West Virginia's 2nd congressional district

West Virginia's 2nd congressional district stretches from the Ohio River border with Ohio to the Potomac River border with Maryland and the border with Virginia. It includes the capital city of Charleston and the rapidly growing residential communities of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and...

.(map). He unsuccessfully challenged Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 incumbent Shelley Moore Capito

Shelley Moore Capito

Shelley Moore Capito is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Republican Party...

. Capito won with 57% of the vote to 43% for Callaghan.

Background

Callaghan grew up in Richwood

Richwood, West Virginia

Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,477 at the 2000 census. A former coal and lumber boom town, the city's population once flirted with 10,000 but the closure of many underground coal mines caused many of Richwood's residents to leave the state...

, a small town in Nicholas County, West Virginia. He attended Richwood High School

Richwood High School (West Virginia)

Richwood High School is a public high school located in Richwood, West Virginia, United States. The school has seen dwindling enrollment over the past several decades and currently has a student population of about 415 students. Twelfth grade has approximately 115, Eleventh grade approximately 100,...

 and the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He then attended the West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 College of Law where he served as editor-in-chief of the West Virginia Law Review

West Virginia Law Review

The West Virginia Law Review is the student-run publication of the West Virginia University College of Law. It is the fourth oldest law review in the United States, founded in 1894.- Executive Board :*Editor-in-Chief- Jessie Feather Reckart...

. He currently practiced law at the firm Neely & Callaghan, www.neelycallaghan.com, in Charleston, West Virginia. He also is an owner of Great Expectations Realty www.greatexpectationsrealty.com in Charleston, West Virginia.

Professional career

For nine years, Callaghan was as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, serving from 1997 until 2001 as head of the criminal division. In 2001, Mike was appointed Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection by then Governor Bob Wise

Bob Wise

Robert Ellsworth "Bob" Wise, Jr. is an American politician. A Democrat, Wise served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from January 2001 to January 2005.-Early life:...

.

Political career

Callaghan has served as Chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. Callaghan was honored at the 2004 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner with the Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 award, naming him the West Virginia Democrat of the Year.

Family life

Callaghan ended his 16 year marriage to Dana Callaghan and married Cheri Heflin. He and his ex-wife have three children.

See also

• Shelley Moore Capito
  Shelley Moore Capito
  Shelley Moore Capito is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Republican Party...
  
  
• West Virginia 2nd congressional district election, 2006