Duke alums Capito, Rahall will root for W.Va. in Final Four match-up

Two members of Congress from West Virginia are facing a tough dilemma this Saturday: They’re Duke alums. They have kids who are Duke alums. But they’re West Virginians, and so are their constituents.

The Duke Blue Devils face the University of West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday for a chance to compete for the NCAA men’s basketball national championship.

{mosads}Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Nick Rahall (D) both graduated from Duke University, in 1975 and 1971, respectively. Capito sent all three of her children to the Durham, N.C., school.

But on Tuesday, Capito told the Charleston Daily Mail that there’s “no question West Virginia will have all my heart and soul.” (Rooting for Duke wouldn’t have helped her possible Senate bid down the road.)

It wasn’t a tough call for Rahall, either. “I’m for West Virginia. There’s no decision to be made,” he told the paper.

Capito grew up rooting for WVU. Her father, alumnus and former Gov. Arch Moore (R), was a hardcore fan since his college days. Capito will be in the stands for Saturday’s game in Indianapolis.

Rahall’s family situation isn’t quite so harmonious, at least where college hoops is concerned. The lawmaker’s wife, Melinda, is a University of Kentucky alumna, and Rahall said she hasn’t spoken to him since the Wildcats fell to the Mountaineers last weekend.