CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Using a giraffe as her campaign logo, Virginia Lynch Graf of Charles Town is running for Congress as a Democrat against Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, who was first elected in 2000.

"I am sticking my neck out for West Virginia, and I am asking voters to stick their heads out for me," Graf said. "The giraffe is also the animal with the biggest heart. Like the people of West Virginia, they have the biggest hearts."

The Jefferson County resident calls herself "a big advocate of social justice."

"For so many years, West Virginia has been exploited by politicians, by big businesses," she said. "We are always on the bottom in salaries, in education, in job opportunities. Those are the main reasons I entered this race.

Graf was unopposed in her primary earlier this year.

"I also ran because there were no Democrats willing to stand up to Shelley Capito," she said.

So far, her campaign has been rather low-key. She travels to county fairs throughout the 2nd District and visits people in their homes. She has yet to buy a television ad. She presents many of her ideas on her campaign website, www.grafforcongress.com.

"I only intend to do this for two terms, for four years," she said. "Then it will be time for someone else to step up to the plate."

She said she intends to recruit enough donors to do one mail campaign and at least one TV ad.

Born in Baltimore, Graf moved to Jefferson County in 1996 with her husband and two children, then in sixth and eighth grade. Today, they also have two grandchildren.

"Our daughter graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University and is now studying for a master's degree at Johns Hopkins," she said. "Our son chose not to go to college. Today, he works at Charles Town Races & Slots."

Her husband, Robert, teaches Latin in Loudon County, Va.

Graf, who declined to give her age, is a retired educator who began her career as a nun. She said her husband encouraged her to run for office.

She earned her bachelor's degree while she was a Sister of Notre Dame, having entered the convent when she was 17. After she left the convent 16 years later, she earned master's and doctoral degrees in religious studies.

Graf has taught in elementary school, high school and college, including at Calvert Hall High School, a private boy's school, and the College of Notre Dame in Maryland, outside Baltimore.

"I never had a child I could not teach to read," she said. "That is my claim to fame. I have taught in Baltimore, in suburbia and in poor rural areas, where children's parents were tenant farmers."

After John Kerry lost the presidential election in 2004, she helped organize the Jefferson County Organization of Democratic Women. She served as the group's president for four years.

Graf said she admired the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.

"You could see the real things he accomplished for the state," she said. "Another thing I love about him is that you could see him grow. You could see a transformation in his thought processes. He kept growing and he kept caring. He came from humble beginnings and didn't have anyone to pay his way."

Graf also believes government funds being spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be better used for education and other programs at home.

She's not a high-profile candidate.

"I don't think the Democratic leadership has put any stock in thinking I can win this seat," she said. "This is a grassroots campaign. I have always believed in public financing of elections. I think Shelley Moore Capito is in for a big surprise."

If elected, she would work to create new jobs, especially in tourism, Graf said.

"We need to work in each county. I learned Clay County was the home of the Golden Delicious apple. We should create jobs revolving around that heritage. We could open factories to can apples, make apple cakes and apple butter," she said. "We need to look at places like Calhoun County, where the B.F. Goodrich plant closed down. They don't have those jobs anymore."

"Tourism should be the number-one industry," she added. "Our state is so beautiful. We need to build fast rails to appeal to visitors, especially Europeans. They would love our mountains and streams."

Graf said she wants to promote new sources of energy, including wind energy, but is not opposed to coal mining.

Graf said she believes she gives voters a chance to choose a candidate "by the content of their character, not by family name, wealth, political party nor privilege."

"If the voters choose Shelley Moore Capito over me, that is OK," she said. "That is their choice -- but give them a choice."

She said she's also upset by the number of lobbyists in Washington.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, she pointed out, recently calculated there are six insurance lobbyists, five banking lobbyists and two defense-industry lobbyists for each one of the 535 members of the House and Senate.

"What is happening today to the people's voice?" Graf asked.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.