Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who filed candidacy papers this week to run for a full six-year term, said he does not believe President Barack Obama’s tanking popularity will hurt his re-election chances. “It’s not a team game,” Manchin told the
Charleston Gazette. “People are going to make their own decisions. They’re going to make their decisions on who they think is best for their state and country.”
Manchin — who admitted his first 14 months in office were challenging — said he wants to restore bipartisan cooperation in Congress to bring jobs back to the United States, develop a strong energy policy, and to stop spending trillions on foreign wars.
“You have to reach across the aisle,” Manchin said. “No one party can do it by themselves.”
A former West Virginia governor, Manchin could face a rematch against Republican businessman John Raese, who filed for the Senate seat last week. Raese, who lost a 2010 election to succeed former Sen. Robert Byrd, claimed at the time Manchin would be a rubber stamp for the Obama administration.
Manchin, however, says he’s an independent voice for his state, and votes for what he thinks is best for West Virginia.
“I haven’t always made the Democratic Party happy — I haven’t always made the White House happy,” Manchin said.
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