Morrisey accuses Manchin of ‘lying’ to Trump, attacks ‘liberal’ record

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) rolled out a new digital ad on Monday accusing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) of “lying” to President Trump about key votes and attacking him for having a “liberal” record, as the senator considers Trump’s nominee for Supreme Court.

The ad accuses Manchin, who’s running for reelection in a state that Trump won by 41 points in 2016, of having “lied” to Trump by telling the president he would support ObamaCare repeal and the GOP tax plan, but instead voting against those bills.

The spot, part of a five-figure ad buy that was shared first with The Hill, also seizes on Manchin’s stance on abortion. Manchin, who identifies as “pro-life,” signaled last month that Trump should avoid choosing a Supreme Court nominee who’s pushing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the high court’s landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion.

Morrisey’s ad concludes by saying, “liberal lying Joe’s got to go.”

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Manchin, a key vote, has yet to indicate where he stands on nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but told Politico in an interview last week that Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) can “kiss my you know what” about the New York lawmaker’s efforts to unify Democrats around opposition to Kavanaugh.

“West Virginia can’t trust liberal lyin’ Joe Manchin,” Morrisey campaign spokesman Nathan Brand said in a statement.

“On Trump’s tax cuts, repeal of Obamacare, and defunding Planned Parenthood, Sen. Manchin acts like he is with West Virginians, but when it is time to vote, he lies and sides with liberal elites in Washington.”

Manchin’s campaign pushed back on the ad, calling it “desperate and dishonest.”

“Morrisey is just running scared because he’s taking heat from West Virginians for the federal lawsuit he joined to allow insurance companies to deny healthcare coverage for people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes and cancer,” Manchin spokesman Grant Herring said in a statement.

Red-state Democrats like Manchin are under pressure over the Supreme Court vacancy. Support for Kavanaugh can help win over moderate voters in a state that overwhelmingly backed Trump, but also risks alienating the Democrat’s base.

On Monday, Manchin sent a statement asking constituents to send him their thoughts on Kavanaugh and whether he’s qualified for the job. In a radio interview last week, Manchin said he didn’t have a “lean,” but said that Kavanaugh “has all the right qualities.”

Manchin is one of 10 Senate Democrats running in a state that Trump carried. Of those states, the president carried West Virginia by the largest margin. Manchin has had a closer working relationship with Trump than most Senate Democrats, though the president has pushed back on him over the Senator’s vote against the tax bill.

Manchin narrowly outraised Morrisey in second-quarter fundraising between April and June, $1.5 million to $1.28 million. And the Democratic senator holds a 6-to-1 cash advantage.

A Monmouth University poll from late June shows Manchin with a 7-point lead.

Updated at 7 p.m.