Republicans looking to take control over the Senate in next year's election hope Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will retire rather than run for reelection, which would open a seat the GOP sees as a prime target.
Manchin, a centrist Democrat, has served as senator since 2018, having previously served as governor from 2004 to 2010, as West Virginia secretary of state from 2000 to 2004, a decade as a state senator, and several years as a state delegate. His ability to win elections in a heavily Republican state has many in the GOP concerned that he could manage to win again if he runs for reelection in 2024.
"There is a reason that Joe Manchin is basically the last standing Democrat in a state that has had a red tsunami since 2014," Mark Blankenship, a Republican pollster based in West Virginia, told Politico. "You can't say that it's impossible for him to win because he's won so much."
Politico noted that Blankenship previously worked for West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's 2020 gubernatorial campaign and that Justice recently announced his intent to run for Manchin's Senate seat.
ABC News reported in March that Manchin has yet to inform his colleagues of his plans, saying previously that he would wait until December. ABC also noted that "virtually every person interviewed said Manchin is the only one who stands a chance" of winning a Senate seat in West Virginia as a Democrat.
"There is no Democrat who can ever win that Senate seat again," said one former aide, who spoke under the condition of anonymity. "If you want to stay in the majority, you need his seat."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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