Manchin passes on run for governor, will stay in Senate

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has decided against running for governor in 2020, a job he won easily twice, opting instead to stay in the Senate despite his very public frustration with Washington.

Manchin said in a statement Tuesday that he could best serve his state in the Senate.

{mosads}“I have always said that ‘public service is not self-service.’ So, when considering whether to run for Governor, I couldn’t focus just on which job I enjoyed the most, but on where I could be the most effective for the Mountain State,” Manchin said. “Ultimately, I believe my role as U.S. Senator allows me to position our state for success for the rest of this century.”

Manchin, who has held statewide office since 2001, is one of the only Democrats who has proven capable of winning West Virginia as it turns increasingly red. He won reelection in 2018 by a slim 3-point margin over Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R).

Manchin, 72, would have started the race with a leg up against Gov. Jim Justice (R). A MetroNews Dominion Post West Virginia poll released last week showed Manchin leading Justice by a wide 49 to 39 percent margin.

Just 42 percent of West Virginians said they approved of the job Justice is doing as governor, while 49 percent approve of the job Manchin is doing in the Senate.

Manchin and Justice had long been political allies, and Manchin encouraged Justice to run for governor in 2016. Justice won office as a Democrat, but he switched his party affiliation in 2017 at a rally with President Trump in Huntington, W.Va.

Justice supported Manchin over Morrisey in 2018, but their relationship frayed over Justice’s party switch. Justice has since attacked Manchin in official press releases, a rare breach of political decorum between senators and governors. Manchin fired back earlier this year by criticizing the size of a settlement West Virginia reached with an opioid distributor as too small.

Justice has feuded with members of his newfound party, too. The powerful chairman of the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee called on Justice to resign, and the state Senate president attacked Justice for his “lack of leadership.”

Justice faces at least two Republicans in next year’s May 12 primary. The MetroNews poll found him leading former state Del. Mike Folk (R) and former Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher (R) among Republican voters, but with just 53 percent of the vote.

State Democrats had urged Manchin to come home and challenge Justice for his old job. No other serious Democrat has said they will run as they awaited his decision.

Democrats are eying Jody Murphy, a former top official at the state Chamber of Commerce, and Stephen Smith, who heads a nonprofit organization, for gubernatorial bids. Former Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D), who lost a Senate bid in 2014 and her reelection campaign in 2016, is also said to be considering a run.

Updated at 10:29 a.m.