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WV Gov. Manchin Running In Senate Special Election

07/20/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will be running for the seat currently held by interim Senator Carte Goodwin who replaced the late Senator Robert Byrd. The decision comes after a compromise bill which allows for Shelley Moore Capito, the favored Republican, to run on both the Senate and House tickets. The amended law will allow Capito to run for the Senate in the special election, and for her normal House seat. She has not announced her decision to run as of this point in time.

Manchin is incredibly popular in West Virginia, and current polling shows him well ahead of Capito in a head to head race. It is possible that Capito may decide to play it safe and hold off running for the Senate until West Virginia’s other Senator, Jay Rockefeller, retires, possibly in 2014. She may also choose to run for Governor in 2012. The odds of her winning this election are slim, so the probability is that she will decline to focus on staying in the House.

Manchin stated “I’m proud of our accomplishments, I really am. The thing I’m most proud about more than anything is bringing people together. I remember five years ago we started out, we looked at each other, they said, ‘We’re all gonna have a seat at the table.’ I looked and said, ‘Not only are you gonna have a seat at the table, if you don’t show up I’m gonna come looking for you.’”

Manchin’s biggest problem is that, in two years, he may not be as popular as he is today, and being a Centrist Democrat is not a really good idea these days. While it is unlikely that the Dems will lose their majorities in this November’s election, the probability is that the Blue Dog Democrats will be a thing of the past.

Writer’s Note:

This article does not count as an endorsement of Governor Manchin. Apparently those people who have not figured that out still want to kvetch about the fact that this man is running, and that he is the most likely to win the election according to a variety of sourcing. I have placed those comments attacking me for my supposed support for this man in the trash. While you are more than welcome to put comments onto this article about Manchin’s record regarding LGBT issues, I do not have the time to research every single politician’s views on LGBT issues. Continued attacks upon me will continue to go into the trash. If you have a gods damned problem with Governor Manchin- ATTACK HIM! Do not attack me. Comprende? I do not live in your state, and I did not have all of the information about this man in front of me when I wrote this article.

As for Scott Regan- the second he formally announces that he is running in this race, I will write up about it, but until then, I am not. Attacks upon me for not writing up about someone who has not formally announced his candidacy for a given race are just sour grapes upon your part. When and if Regan runs for this office in this race, we will report it. Saying “he’s been in this race for years” is not him announcing his candidacy. It is just him saying he wants to run if given the opportunity.

To all who want to attack me- let me say this, either keep your comments to the subject- Manchin- or the next note I give will be that all comments are suspended. I have done that in the past and if you do not like it, tough.

Writer’s Note 2:

When I state that I will shut down comments if they are directed at me, I mean it.  I am not Ms Nathan, and I have not done a lot of research on Manchin.  If you had wanted to discuss Manchin’s position regarding LGBT issues, that was fair game.  Once Scott Regan enters the office officially, I will include an article about him and include any and all available information relevant to the article at that time.

Sorry, comments are now closed because some people cannot grasp that a news story is not an endorsement, and that I was deadly serious when I said I would not allow comments if they were about my reporting.