Manchin: ‘I am disappointed by Gov. Justice’s decision to switch parties’

WASHINGTON- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he is not pleased that the governor of his home state has decided to join the Republican party.

“I am disappointed by Gov. Justice’s decision to switch parties,” Manchin said in a Thursday evening statement following Justice’s announcement at a Huntington rally alongside President Donald Trump.

“While I do not agree with his decision, I have always said that I will work with anyone, no matter their political affiliation, to do what is best for the people of West Virginia,” he explained.

Justice has occupied the state’s highest office since January and is expected to officially change his party registration today.

Manchin, who served as governor of West Virginia before being elected to the Senate, is regarded by many political pundits to be one of the few remaining conservative-leaning Democrats. Manchin’s voting record suggests he is generally pro-life as well as pro-Second Amendment.

West Virginia was long considered a Democratic bastion due to strong support from card-carrying union members who worked in coal mines but as the party became more environmentally conscious and socially progressive Mountain State voters began supporting Republican candidates.

Bill Clinton in 1996 was the last Democrat to carry the state in a presidential election.

President Donald Trump, who has promised to bring dissipating coal mining jobs back to West Virginia, carried the Mountain State by 42 points in last year’s  presidential election.

Republicans occupy West Virginia’s three congressional seats. The Mountain State’s representation in the upper chamber is evenly divided.

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News