Joe Manchin | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| United States Senator from West Virginia | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2010 Serving with Shelley Moore Capito | |
| Preceded by | Carte Goodwin |
| Chair of the Senate Energy Committee | |
| Assumed office February 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Lisa Murkowski |
| Ranking Member of the Senate Energy Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – February 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Maria Cantwell |
| Succeeded by | John Barrasso |
| Chair of the National Governors Association | |
| In office July 11, 2010 – November 15, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Douglas |
| Succeeded by | Christine Gregoire |
| 34th Governor of West Virginia | |
| In office January 17, 2005 – November 15, 2010 | |
| Lieutenant | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Preceded by | Bob Wise |
| Succeeded by | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| 27th Secretary of State of West Virginia | |
| In office January 15, 2001 – January 17, 2005 | |
| Governor | Bob Wise |
| Preceded by | Ken Hechler |
| Succeeded by | Betty Ireland |
| Member of the West Virginia Senate | |
| In office December 1, 1986 – December 1, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Anthony Yanero |
| Succeeded by | Roman Prezioso |
| Constituency |
|
| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 31st district | |
| In office December 1, 1982 – December 1, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Clyde See |
| Succeeded by | Duane Southern |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Anthony Manchin III August 24, 1947 Farmington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 2024) No Labels |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Heather |
| Relatives | James Manchin (uncle) |
| Education | West Virginia University (BBA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
Joseph Anthony Manchin III (/ˈmæntʃɪn/ MAN-chin; born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. Manchin was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. He became the state's senior U.S. senator when Jay Rockefeller left office in 2015 and was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until 2024, when he registered as an independent. Before entering politics, Manchin helped found and was the president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates.[1]
Manchin won the 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008. He won the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd's death with 53% of the vote, and in 2012 was elected to a full term with 61% of the vote. Manchin won a second term in 2018 with just under 50% of the vote. In all his Senate elections, he drastically outperformed Democratic presidential nominees in the state. As of 2024, Manchin represents what is by a significant margin the most Republican-leaning constituency of any Democrat or independent in Congress.[2][3]
Manchin has called himself a "centrist, moderate, conservative Democrat" and is generally regarded as the Senate Democratic caucus' most centrist member.[4] He opposed President Barack Obama's energy policies, including reductions and restrictions on coal mining; voted against cloture for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (not voting on the bill itself); supported President Donald Trump's border wall and immigration policies; and voted to confirm most of Trump's cabinet and judicial appointees, including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.[5][6] On the other hand, Manchin voted against repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials, voted against Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and was a Senate sponsor of the Inflation Reduction Act.[7] He is among the more non-interventionist members of the Democratic caucus, having repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and opposed most military interventions in Syria.[8][9]
After the 2020 elections, Manchin became a key swing vote in the Senate, which was split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans but controlled by Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris was the tiebreaker.[10] Since passing legislation with only Democratic support required Manchin's vote, he wielded a large influence in the 117th Congress.[11] In November 2023, Manchin announced he would not run for reelection to the Senate. In 2024, he left the Democratic Party to become an independent,[12] and later announced that he would not run for any office (some had speculated that he might run for governor of West Virginia).[13]
- ^ "ENERSYSTEMS, INC. :: West Virginia (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Young, Charles (November 8, 2020). "Experts discuss West Virginia's continued shift toward GOP leadership". WV News. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ Bacon, Perry Jr. (March 31, 2021). "Why Joe Manchin Is So Willing And Able To Block His Party's Goals". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
- ^ Colegrove, Andrew (November 10, 2016). "Senator Manchin refutes speculation of a party switch". WSAZ-TV. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ Liptak, Adam; Flegenheimer, Matt (April 7, 2017). "Neil Gorsuch Confirmed by Senate as Supreme Court Justice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ Zengerle, Jason (September 26, 2018). "The Struggles of Joe Manchin, the Last Democrat in Trump Country". GQ.
- ^ Foran, Clare (March 25, 2022). "Manchin says he will vote for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson". CNN. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WVMN1082018was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
CNN9142014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Foran, Clare; Raju, Manu; Mattingly, Phil (December 15, 2021). "Talks between Manchin and Biden at standstill as Build Back Better likely stalled until next year". CNN. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ Smith, David (October 29, 2021). "Senate's 50-50 split lets Manchin and Sinema revel in outsize influence". the Guardian. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
- ^ Wong, Scott; Santaliz, Kate (May 31, 2024). "Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the Democratic Party and registers as an independent". NBC News. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
- ^ Rimmer, Morgan (June 3, 2024). "Manchin says he's 'not running for any office' after decision to leave Democratic Party | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved November 23, 2024.