(TotalConservative.com) – West Virginia Democrat officials are pushing back on the suggestion that outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (D) might announce a surprise bid for the governorship despite Manchin dropping his party and registering as an independent on Friday, May 31. The step is a necessary precursor to a bid for governor, and an announcement could come at any time between now and August 1, which is the deadline for independent candidates to register in West Virginia.
Manchin was reportedly encouraged during a recent speech at the Greenbrier resort owned by current WV Gov. Jim Justice. Justice is famed for swapping parties from Democrat to Republican. Manchin is known as a conservative-leaning Democrat.
WV media personality Hoppy Kercheval suggested the possibility of a Manchin bid for governor is “real,” and his decision to drop parties has rumors swirling. As an independent, Manchin would be running against both Democrat and Republican candidates for governor. The current Democratic candidate for the governorship is Huntington Mayor Steve Williams and the Republican candidate is state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
If Manchin decides to run, he has to declare his candidacy by August 1 and fulfill registration requirements which means getting signatures. As an independent candidate, Manchin’s campaign could gather signatures from members of any party to legitimize his bid.
Manchin issued comments to the press suggesting that he was determined to help unite the nation behind a common sense agenda, and indicted the major parties for engaging in partisan extremism. He’s previously served two terms as West Virginia’s governor prior to serving in the Senate.
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Matt Herridge said that the party was “united squarely behind” their current candidate, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. His counterpart with the Democrats, Mike Pushkin, similarly suggested the only reason there were rumors was that the Republicans aren’t satisfied with their candidate.
Pushkin highlighted that the party was incredibly divided on who they wanted to advance to run with roughly 66% choosing another candidate. He highlighted that Williams was a good candidate, saying how he helped turn the city of Huntington’s finances around, without raising taxes, after the city was bankrupted. The men both issued their comments before Manchin announced his party switch, however.
Copyright 2024, TotalConservative.com
