Joe Manchin

"Manchin" redirects here. For Irish saints of this name, see Mainchín.

Joe Manchin
United States Senator from West Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 15, 2010 Serving with Jay Rockefeller
Preceded by	Carte Goodwin
34th Governor of West Virginia
In office January 17, 2005 – November 15, 2010
Preceded by	Bob Wise
Succeeded by	Earl Ray Tomblin
27th Secretary of State of West Virginia
In office January 15, 2001 – January 17, 2005
Governor	Bob Wise
Preceded by	Ken Hechler
Succeeded by	Betty Ireland
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 13th district
In office 1993–1996
Preceded by	Joseph M. Minard
Succeeded by	Mike Oliverio
Member of the West Virginia Senate from the 14th district
In office 1987–1993
Preceded by	James Davis
Succeeded by	Eugene Claypole
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 43rd district
In office 1983–1987
Personal details
Born	Joseph Manchin III August 24, 1947 (1947-08-24) Farmington, West Virginia
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Gayle Conelly (1967–present)
Children	Heather Joseph IV Brooke
Residence	Fairmont, West Virginia
Alma mater	West Virginia University (B.S.)
Profession	Energy executive
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature
Website	Senate website

Joseph "Joe" Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010. He won the special election in November 2010 to fill the seat of Robert Byrd, who had died in office; the term ends January 3, 2013.

Early life, education, and business career

Manchin was born in Farmington, West Virginia, in 1947, the second of five children of Mary (née Gouzd) and John Manchin. His grandparents were Italian and Czechoslovakian immigrants. His father owned a carpet and furniture store. His grandfather, Joe Manchin I, owned a grocery store. Both his father and his grandfather were elected as Mayor of Farmington, West Virginia. His uncle James Manchin was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and was elected statewide as West Virginia Secretary of State and West Virginia State Treasurer. Manchin graduated from Farmington High School in 1965.

Manchin entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965; however, an injury during practice ended his football career. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in information management and later became involved in several family-owned businesses.

Early political career

Manchin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 at the age of 35 and was then elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1986, where he served until 1996. He ran for governor in 1996, finishing second to Charlotte Pritt among a large group of candidates in the Democratic primary election. He then ran for Secretary of State of West Virginia in 2000, winning easily.

Governor of West Virginia

Then-Governor Manchin at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, April 16, 2006

Elections

Manchin announced his intention to challenge incumbent Democratic governor Bob Wise in the 2004 Democratic primary election in May 2003, but Wise decided not to seek re-election after a scandal, and Manchin won both the primary and general elections by large margins. His election marked the first time that two people of the same political party followed one another in the West Virginia governor's office since 1964.

Manchin easily won re-election to a second term as Governor in 2008, capturing 70 percent of the vote.

Tenure

Manchin speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in his capacity as chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

Manchin was a member of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors' Association, and the Democratic Governors Association. He was also chairman of the Southern States Energy Board, state's chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission and chairman of the Interstate Mining Compact Commission.

In July 2005, Massey Energy chief executive officer Don Blankenship sued Manchin,^{[citation needed]} alleging that Manchin had violated Blankenship's First Amendment rights by threatening increased government scrutiny of his coal operations due to Blankenship's political activities.^{[citation needed]} Blankenship had donated substantial funds^{[citation needed]} into campaigns to defeat a proposed pension bond amendment^{[citation needed]} and oppose the re-election of state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw,^{[citation needed]} and he fought against^{[citation needed]} an proposed increase in the severance tax on extraction of mineral resources. Soon after defeat of the pension bond amendment,^{[citation needed]} the state Division of Environmental Protection revoked a permit approval for controversial new silos near Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County.^{[citation needed]} While area residents had complained for some time that the coal operation there endangered their children,^{[citation needed]} Blankenship claimed that the DEP acted in response to his opposition to the bond amendment.^{[citation needed]}

During the Sago Mine disaster of early January 2006 in Upshur County, West Virginia, Manchin initially appeared to confirm incorrect reports that 12 miners had survived;^{[citation needed]} in actuality only one survived.^{[citation needed]} Manchin later acknowledged that an unintentional miscommunication had occurred with rescue teams within the mine.^{[citation needed]} On February 1, 2006, he ordered a stop to all coal production in West Virginia, pending safety checks, after two more miners were killed in separate accidents. A total of 16 West Virginia coal miners died from mining accidents in early 2006. Manchin's overall handling of the Sago mine incident may have enhanced his popularity. In November 2006, SurveyUSA ranked him as one of the most popular governors in the country with a 74 percent approval rating.

On April 15, 2006, during an Easter visit to U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq, Manchin generated controversy by posing for photographers while signing two missiles at Balad Air Force Base.^{[citation needed]} One of the messages read, "Sending you to hell, from Almost Heaven, West Virginia." He told the media: "I just thought, 'Hey, these are people doing tremendous harm to our people.' I wanted to send them a little message." After receiving several complaints, Manchin apologized.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Senate

Elections

2010

Main article: United States Senate special election in West Virginia, 2010

Memorial service for Robert Byrd at the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, July 2, 2010.

Longtime West Virginia Democratic U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd's health was obviously declining by 2010.^{[citation needed]} Speculation focused on what Democratic West Virginia Governor Manchin's response would be if the Senator passed away, but the Governor consistently refused to comment on the subject prior to Byrd's death, except for stating that he would not appoint himself to the position. Senator Byrd died on June 28, 2010, and Manchin in his capacity as governor, having the responsibility of designating a replacement, appointed Carte Goodwin, his 36-year-old legal adviser, on July 16 who became the youngest U.S. Senator.^{[citation needed]}

A Rasmussen Reports poll^{[citation needed]} found Manchin leading in the potential 2010 special election for the seat against Republican Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito and former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland, also a Republican. On July 20, 2010, Manchin officially announced he would seek the Senate seat.

In the Democratic primary on August 28, he defeated former Democratic Congressman and former West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler In the general election, he then defeated Republican John Raese.

Senator Manchin's seat is next up for election in November 2012.

2012

Main article: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2012

Senator Manchin’s seat in the Senate will be up for election again in 2012. According to Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling, early polling finds Senator Manchin heavily favored, leading Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito 50-39, 2010 opponent John Raese 60-31, and Congressman David McKinley 57-28.

Tenure

Manchin was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden as a U.S. Senator on November 15, 2010, succeeding appointed Senator Carte Goodwin. Before his swearing-in, rumors suggested that the Republican Party was courting Manchin to change parties, although the Republicans later suggested that Manchin was the source of the rumors. Manchin named Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis to be his chief of staff. Kofinis was formerly an adviser to Wesley Clark and John Edwards.^{[citation needed]}

On December 9, 2010, Manchin was the sole Democrat to vote against cloture for the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, which contained a provision to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In an interview with The Associated Press, Manchin cited the advice of retired military chaplains as a basis for his decision to vote against repeal. He also indicated he wanted more time to "hear the full range of viewpoints from the citizens of West Virginia."

On December 18, 2010, Manchin was not present for the vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the vote on the DREAM Act, regarding immigration. The National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized Manchin for attending a family Christmas gathering instead of voting on these sensitive issues.

In June, 2011, Manchin joined with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in seeking a crackdown on bitcoin currency transactions, saying that they facilitated illegal drug trade transactions. "The transactions leave no traditional [bank transfer] money trail for investigators to follow, and leave it hard to prove a package recipient knew in advance what was in a shipment," using an "'anonymizing network' known as Tor." One opinion website said the senators wanted "to disrupt [the] Silk Road drug website."

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Committee on Rules and Administration

Electoral history

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Joe Manchin	472,758	63.5%
	Republican	Monty Warner	253,131	33.6%
	Mountain	Jesse Johnson	18,430	2%

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Joe Manchin	493,246	69.77%
	Republican	Russ Weeks	181,908	25.73%
	Mountain	Jesse Johnson	31,515	4.46%

United States Senate special election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Joe Manchin	280,771	53.5%
	Republican	John Raese	227,960	43.4%
	Mountain	Jesse Johnson	10,048	1.9%
	Constitution	Jeff Becker	6,366	1.2%

Personal life

Manchin has been married since 1967 to the former Gayle Conelly, and they have three children: Heather, Joseph IV, and Brooke. He is a member of the National Rifle Association and a licensed pilot.

In 2006 and 2010 Manchin delivered commencement addresses at Wheeling Jesuit University and at Davis & Elkins College, receiving honorary degrees from both institutions.

External links

• U.S. Senator Joe Manchin official U.S. Senate site
• Joe Manchin for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

Governor

• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Profile at the Democratic Governors Association
• Inaugural Address of Joseph Manchin III
• Manchin Inauguration Ceremony on WV PBS January, 2009

Political offices
Preceded by Ken Hechler	Secretary of State of West Virginia 2001–2005	Succeeded by Betty Ireland
Preceded by Bob Wise	Governor of West Virginia 2005–2010	Succeeded by Earl Ray Tomblin
Preceded by Jim Douglas	Chairperson of National Governors Association 2010	Succeeded by Christine Gregoire
Party political offices
Preceded by Bob Wise	Democratic nominee for Governor of West Virginia 2004, 2008	Succeeded by Earl Ray Tomblin
Preceded by Robert Byrd	Democratic nominee for Senator from West Virginia (Class 1) 2010	Incumbent
United States Senate
Preceded by Carte Goodwin	United States Senator (Class 1) from West Virginia 2010–present Served alongside: Jay Rockefeller	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Scott Brown R-Massachusetts	United States Senators by seniority 84th	Succeeded by Chris Coons D-Delaware