Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Va.), one of the most centrist U.S. Senators, said that he’s looking at leaving office to run for governor of West Virginia.
Manchin is part of a small group of Senators that sometimes votes with the opposing party.
He said that some supporters in his state want him to run for governor in 2020.
Responding to a question about how productive he feels in the Senate, Manchin said: “not at all.”
“I haven’t been happy since I’ve been here. I’ve always thought there was more we can do. It’s the greatest body in the world, so much good could be done,” he said.
Manchin was the governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 but left in the middle of a second term to become a U.S. Senator. He won re-election in 2018 against President Donald Trump supporter Patrick Morrisey, the state’s Attorney General.
Another U.S. Senator told The Hill on condition of anonymity that Manchin has expressed frustration with the perceived lack of action taken in the Senate.
“He said, ‘I’m out of here.’ He was all pissed off and said, ‘I’m going to be out of here,’” the lawmaker said.
“I think about it every minute of every day. Now, thinking about it and doing it are two different things,” Manchin said. “I’ll make a decision this fall sometime. I don’t think there’s any hurry at all.”
Manchin has earned bipartisan support in West Virginia and has often sided with Trump on key issues, such as Supreme Court nominations, abortion, and the border wall.
“Late-term abortions are just horrific…totally just wrong,” Manchin said later.
“My goodness. Well, I could hear the boos a little bit, you know, I didn’t know if the boos were for the president or for me standing, I wasn’t sure,” he added. “But I could sure feel the daggers.”
Friends Read Free