Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday he will not enter the governor’s race in West Virginia, quashing speculation that the retiring senator may be considering a last-minute bid for his old job.
“My support is with Steve Williams,” Manchin said of the Democratic candidate, who won the state’s primary race uncontested.
“He has been my friend for 40 years and we work together. I know how good he is, I know how competent he is and I know how hard he will work. So I’ve been supporting Steve,” he added while speaking to local reporters at the opening ceremony of a public outdoor fitness court at the University of Charleston on Wednesday. the Herald-Dispatch reported.
Recently, there have been rumors that Manchin — a conservative Democrat who served as the state’s governor from 2005 to 2010 — was mulling a possible run for his old job, a race in which he might enter only as an independent or in the case of persuading Williams to run. to move away. .
Some West Virginia Republicans encouraged Manchin after being unhappy with the results of last week’s GOP primary — which saw West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey narrowly defeat former state lawmaker Moore Capito, the senator’s son Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.), for nomination.
Manchin said, however, that he did not know how rumors about a possible bid began.
“I don’t know how this happened,” Manchin told reporters. “But I appreciate it. It’s humbling and I’m very proud to have people who think that my public service was really about public service. That’s all I’m about, and I want my state to be successful.”
“I want to help anyone I can in the position they’re in, whether it’s a governor, a U.S. senator or a congressman. I want to be able to help them do the best they can to represent our state,” she added.
Manchin announced in November that he planned to retire from the Senate, after much toying with rumors about a possible third-party bid for the White House. He said he “accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” but noted that the decision not to run again was “one of the most difficult decisions of my life.”
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