Politician Riley McGowan Moore was born on July 1, 1980, in Morgantown. He is the grandson of former governor and congressman Arch Moore Jr. and was named for his grandmother Shelley Riley Moore.

After earning a welding certificate, a bachelor’s in government, and a master’s in strategic security studies, he served on the staff of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In 2016, the Republican Harpers Ferry resident defeated Rod Snyder by less than 100 votes to win a seat in the House of Delegates, representing the 67^th District and serving as the assistant majority whip. Two years later, he lost his reelection bid to former delegate John Doyle of Jefferson County. In the 2020 general election, he defeated longtime state treasurer John Perdue with 56.3 percent of the vote. As treasurer, he publicly opposed ESG, which bases corporate portfolio investments, in part, on environmental, social, and corporate government issues.

In 2024, he ran for the Second District congressional seat being vacated by incumbent Alex Mooney, who ran unsuccessfully against Jim Justice for the U.S. Senate Republican nomination. He soundly won the Republican nomination in a field of five and went on to win the general election against Democrat Steven Wendelin by a margin of 71 to 29 percent.

His district primarily covers northern West Virginia, including many counties once represented in Congress by his grandfather. His aunt is U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito.