Manchin: 'All Options Open' On W.Va. Governor Run

[DonViejo]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEN THOMAS – MAY 4, 2014, 3:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he's keeping "all options open" on whether to seek the governor's office in 2016 or remain in the Senate, where he has expressed frustration with partisanship and gridlock.

Manchin, a Democrat, said his time as governor was the most productive period in his life but he hasn't felt the same way since his election to the Senate in 2010 to finish the term of the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd. Manchin, who served as West Virginia governor for six years, was elected to a full term in 2012.

"Basically, do I want out or do I want to stay? I want to make a difference," Manchin said on CNN's "State of the Union." ''The Senate gives me a great vehicle to make a difference in the world, and in my country and in my state. With that being said, if I don't see changes being made, if I don't think that I'm being productive and contributing to something in a positive manner, I've got to evaluate where I'm at and where I might be most effective."

Manchin is considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate and has sought to work with Republicans, most notably on unsuccessful legislation last year to expand background checks on firearm purchases as a way of curbing gun violence. He has co-chaired a group called No Labels, which promotes bipartisanship and problem-solving.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/manchin-options-open-governor

[Cha]

1. Yeah, how's that working out for ya, Manchin? the whole bi-partisan thing

with the current group of gop Senators?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get a Senator from WV who was more into the people of the USA?

[Kelvin Mace]

2. Don't see why he

would run for governor. His senate job pays $25K more per year and he has all the Dem lickspittle he could want.

[brooklynite]

3. Much better to have a Tea Party Republican, right?

[Cha]

4. I didn't say that.. so why would you even come up with it? If he wants to go off

and be gov then it would be nice if we got someone from WV who was more into the People side of life.

[brooklynite]

5. ...because you won't.

The voters of West Virginia have shown no inclination to elect an Elizabeth Warren replica. Manchin is as close to a Democrat as you're going to get in WV.

[Cha]

6. Yeah, that's pessimistic and resigned. And, I didn't have anyone like Elizabeth Warren in mind.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

7. You have no idea what you're talking about.

West Virginia's other senator is Jay Rockefeller (a democrat) who endorsed Obama and supported health care reform. It's not an impossible task.

[brooklynite]

8. West Virginia has been shifting...

It's much more conservative now than it was when Rockefeller was first elected.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

9. And yet he was reelected in 2008.

by a margin of almost 25 points......


Again, it's not an impossible task and your comment was completely ignorant.

[Zorra]

10. West Virginia would be so much better if they elected a Democratic governor instead. nt