Joe Manchin is a bona fide centrist, a political animal nearing extinction in the Democratic Party, whose home state of West Virginia gave Donald Trump his second-highest winning percentage last fall, with 69 percent of the vote. … Manchin’s the kind of senator that presidential candidate Joe Biden and, once […] Read more »
How Joe Manchin Survives as a Democrat in West Virginia
… Mr. Manchin’s unique ability to survive in West Virginia is the last vestige of the state’s once-reliable New Deal Democratic tradition, dating to old industrial-era fights over workers’ wages, rights and safety. It was one of the most reliably Democratic states of the second half of the 20th century, […] Read more »
Why Joe Manchin is an electoral miracle
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is one of the most powerful men in Washington. With Democrats holding a one-vote majority in the Senate (thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris casting any tie-breaking vote), he can make or break a lot of bills for them. Manchin’s moderate record, however, […] Read more »
The State of the States: The Governors
Key Points• Many state governors have received high marks for their handling of coronavirus.• Three of them on the ballot this November get a boost in our gubernatorial ratings this week.• As of now, the open seat in Montana seems to be the seat likeliest to change hands on the […] Read more »
The Cultural Realignment of State White Electorates in the 21st Century
At the turn of the 21st century, West Virginians were among the most Democratic state white electorates. Their level of Democratic partisanship was in the top five (along with Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Hawaii) and they ranked above the median state white electorate in terms of Democratic presidential voting. […] Read more »
How Red-State Democrats Became An Endangered Species In The Senate
One theme of the 2018 election was that Democratic senators from rural, red states became an endangered breed. Three Democratic senators on deep-red turf — Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — lost their seats. Two others managed to squeak out wins […] Read more »