Manchin Dealt Blow By GOP Rival Ahead of 2024 Senate Race

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), could be the GOP’s trump card during the long-running race for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

According to a report, Justice, who was a favorite in a hypothetical GOP Senate primaries, beat Manchin 52% to 42%. Poll The Senate Leadership Fund asked him to gauge the race. He is the only. Republican Who is the centrist Democrat’s top choice?

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Justice and Manchin are not yet declared candidates for the hotly-contested seat. Manchin has Technically, the door was even open He has not indicated that he will run for president in 2024 but he does not appear to be ready for that.

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In a hypothetical GOP primary, Justice bests Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), who is currently the only major declared candidate, and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. According to the poll, Justice wins 53% support over Mooney (21%), and Morrisey (21%).

Justice boasted on Twitter about the poll, praising the high marks he received, and fueling speculation about his Senate ambitions.

Mooney is defeated by Manchin, 55% to 40 percent, and Morrisey 52% to 42%. In his 2018 reelection campaign, he beat Morrisey by 3 points. Manchin represents a rare victory for Democrats in deep Republican territory. Former President Donald Trump won West Virginia by almost 40 points in 2020.

Justice is term-limited, and cannot run for another term as governor in 2024. Teased He is. “seriously considering running for U.S. Senate.” He switched his party affiliation from Republican into Democratic in 2015 ahead of his 2016 gubernatorial matchup against Republican Bill Cole.

A year later, Justice switched back to Republican. This was a move that Trump praised at the time. Manchin’s spokesperson Contended The senator “will win whatever race he enters.”

Manchin is a centrist who quickly became a key vote in the 50-50 Senate. Manchin often upset liberals by torpedoing multiple iterations. “Build Back Better” Biden administration seeks social spending initiatives. He eventually reached a deal with his party over the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act.

Republicans are keenly pursuing the seat as a possibility for a pickup. Democrats will have 23 seats to defend, with three being held by Democratically Aligned Independent Senators. Republicans will only need to defend 11 seats in the 2024 cycle.

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The poll was conducted between Feb. 5 and 7. It had a margin for error of plus/minus 4.1 percent. The sample included 609 likely voters, and an oversample with 100 likely Republican voters.

The Senate Leadership Fund is a political action committee aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).