Joe Manchin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Manchin
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Official portrait, 2017
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| United States Senator from West Virginia |
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| In office November 15, 2010 – January 3, 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Carte Goodwin |
| Succeeded by | Jim Justice |
| Chair of the Senate Energy Committee | |
| In office February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Lisa Murkowski |
| Succeeded by | Mike Lee |
| Ranking Member of the Senate Energy Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – February 3, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Maria Cantwell |
| Succeeded by | John Barrasso |
| Chair of the National Governors Association | |
| In office July 11, 2010 – November 15, 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Douglas |
| Succeeded by | Christine Gregoire |
| 34th Governor of West Virginia | |
| In office January 17, 2005 – November 15, 2010 |
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| Lieutenant | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Preceded by | Bob Wise |
| Succeeded by | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| 27th Secretary of State of West Virginia | |
| In office January 15, 2001 – January 17, 2005 |
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| Governor | Bob Wise |
| Preceded by | Ken Hechler |
| Succeeded by | Betty Ireland |
| Member of the West Virginia Senate | |
| In office December 1, 1986 – December 1, 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Anthony Yanero |
| Succeeded by | Roman Prezioso |
| Constituency |
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| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 31st district |
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| In office December 1, 1982 – December 1, 1986 |
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| Preceded by | Clyde See |
| Succeeded by | Duane Southern |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Joseph Anthony Manchin III
August 24, 1947 Farmington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (until 2024) Independent (2024–present) |
| Spouse |
Gayle Conelly
(m. 1967) |
| Children | 3, including Heather |
| Relatives | James Manchin (uncle) |
| Education | West Virginia University (BBA) |
| Signature |  |
Joseph Anthony Manchin III (/ˈmæntʃɪn/ MAN-chin; born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as an independent in 2024. Manchin served from 2005 to 2010 as the 34th governor of West Virginia and from 2001 to 2005 as the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia. Before entering politics, he co-founded and was president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates.
Manchin won the 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008. He won the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd's death with 53.5% of the vote, and in 2012 was elected to a full term with 60.6% of the vote. Manchin won a second term in 2018 with 49.6% of the vote. In all his Senate elections, he drastically outperformed Democratic presidential nominees in the state. Manchin represented what was by a significant margin the most Republican-leaning constituency of any Democrat or independent in Congress during his tenure.
Manchin has called himself a "centrist, moderate, conservative Democrat" and was generally regarded as the Senate Democratic caucus' most centrist member. He opposed President Barack Obama's energy policies, including reductions and restrictions on coal mining; voted against cloture for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (not voting on the bill itself); supported President Donald Trump's border wall and immigration policies; and voted to confirm most of Trump's cabinet and judicial appointees, including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. On the other hand, Manchin voted against repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials, voted against Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and was a Senate sponsor of the Inflation Reduction Act. He is among the more non-interventionist members of the Democratic caucus, having repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and opposed most military interventions in Syria.
After the 2020 elections, Manchin became a key swing vote in the Senate, which was split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans but controlled by Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris was the tiebreaker. Since passing legislation with only Democratic support required Manchin's vote, he wielded a large influence in the 117th Congress. During the 118th Congress, he was considered a key swing vote in the Senate, alongside Kyrsten Sinema. In November 2023, Manchin announced he would not run for reelection to the Senate. In 2024, he left the Democratic Party to become an independent, and later announced that he would not run for any office, ending speculation that he would be a candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election.
As of 2025, Manchin remains the most recent official affiliated with the Democratic Party to hold statewide office in West Virginia.
Early life and education
Joseph Manchin III was born on August 24, 1947, in Farmington, West Virginia, a small coal mining town. He is the second of five children of Mary O. (née Gouzd) and John Manchin. The name "Manchin" was derived from the Italian name "Mancina". His father was of Italian descent, and his paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from the town of San Giovanni in Fiore, in Calabria. Manchin's maternal grandparents were Czechoslovak immigrants.
Manchin's father owned a carpet and furniture store, and his grandfather, Joseph Manchin (Giuseppe Mancina), owned a grocery store. His father and his grandfather each served as mayor of Farmington. Manchin's uncle, A. James Manchin, was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and later served as West Virginia Secretary of State and Treasurer.
Manchin graduated from Farmington High School in 1965. He entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965, but an injury during practice ended his football career. Manchin graduated in 1970 with a degree in business administration and went to work for his family's business. Manchin has been a close friend of Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban since childhood.
Business interests
Enersystems coal brokerage
In 1988, Manchin founded Enersystems, a waste coal brokerage company based in Fairmont, West Virginia. Manchin was president of Enersystems until 2000, when he entered politics and gave control of the company's daily operations to his son, Joe Manchin IV. At some point during his tenure as governor, Manchin moved his Enersystems holdings into a blind trust. In a financial disclosure from 2020, Manchin reported that his non-public shares of Enersystems were worth between $1 million and $5 million and that between 2011 and 2020 he was paid $5,211,154 in dividend income from them. In 2020, he received over $500,000 in dividends. Enersystems is 71% of Manchin's investment income and 30% of his net worth.
Other investments
Since his election to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Manchin has listed AA Properties as a non-public asset on his annual financial disclosures. AA Property is reportedly 50% controlled by Manchin, and has, among other things, been an investor in Emerald Coast Realty, which owns a La Quinta hotel in Elkview, West Virginia.
Early political career
Before entering politics, Manchin helped found and was the president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates.
Manchin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 at age 35 and in 1986 was elected to the West Virginia Senate, where he served until 1996. He ran for governor in 1996, losing the Democratic primary election to Charlotte Pritt. At that time, he supported the Republican candidate for governor, Cecil Underwood, who went on to win. Manchin was elected Secretary of State of West Virginia in 2000, defeating Libertarian candidate Poochie Myers, 89.4% to 10.6%.
Governor of West Virginia
In 2003, Manchin announced his intention to challenge incumbent Democratic governor Bob Wise in the 2004 Democratic primary. Wise decided not to seek reelection after a scandal, and Manchin won the Democratic primary and general election by large margins. His election marked the first time since 1964 that a West Virginia governor was succeeded by another governor from the same party.
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In July 2005, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship sued Manchin, alleging that Manchin had violated Blankenship's First Amendment rights by threatening increased government scrutiny of his coal operations in retaliation for Blankenship's political activities. Blankenship had donated substantial funds into campaigns to defeat a proposed pension bond amendment and oppose the reelection of state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw, and he fought against a proposed increase in the severance tax on extraction of mineral resources. Soon after the bond amendment's defeat, the state Division of Environmental Protection (DEP) revoked a permit approval for controversial new silos near Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County. While area residents had complained for some time that the coal operation there endangered their children, Blankenship claimed that the DEP acted in response to his opposition to the bond amendment.
During the Sago Mine disaster in early January 2006 in Upshur County, West Virginia, Manchin confirmed incorrect reports that 12 miners had survived; in actuality only one survived. Manchin later acknowledged that a miscommunication had occurred with rescue teams in the mine. 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. Sixteen West Virginia coal miners died in mining accidents in early 2006.
Manchin easily won reelection to a second term as governor in 2008 against Republican Russ Weeks, capturing 69.81% of the vote and winning every county.
U.S. Senate
Elections
2010
Due to Senator Robert Byrd's declining health, there was speculation about what Manchin would do if Byrd died. Manchin refused to comment on the subject until Byrd's death, except to say that he would not appoint himself to the Senate. Byrd died on June 28, 2010, and Manchin appointed Carte Goodwin, his 36-year-old legal adviser, on July 16.
On July 20, 2010, Manchin announced he would seek the Senate seat in a special election for the remaining two years of Byrd's term. In the August 28 Democratic special primary, he defeated former Democratic Congressman and former West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler. In the special general election, he defeated Republican businessman John Raese, 53.5%-43.4%.
2012
Manchin ran for reelection to a full-term in 2012. According to the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, early polling found Manchin heavily favored, leading Representative Shelley Moore Capito 50–39, 2010 opponent John Raese 60–31, and Congressman David McKinley 57–28. Manchin did not endorse President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012, saying that he had "some real differences" with the presumptive nominees of both major parties. Manchin found fault with Obama's economic and energy policies and questioned Romney's understanding of the "challenges facing ordinary people".
Manchin defeated Raese and Mountain Party candidate Bob Henry Baber, winning 61% of the vote.
2018
In 2018, Manchin ran for reelection. He was challenged in the Democratic primary by Paula Jean Swearengin. Swearengin is an activist and coal miner's daughter who was supported by former members of Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign. She criticized Manchin for voting with Republicans and supporting Trump's policies. Manchin won the primary with 70% of the vote.
On the Republican side, Manchin was challenged by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. In August 2017, Morrisey publicly asked Manchin to resign from the Senate Democratic leadership. ..... Don't care if I get elected, don't care if I get defeated, how about that?"
Manchin won the November 6 general election, defeating Morrisey 49.57%-46.26%.
2024
Manchin has said he will not run for reelection in 2024. He indicated that he would not be leaving politics, saying he would be "traveling the country and speaking out, to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle, and bring Americans together". In May and again in June 2023, he refused to rule out running for president as a third-party candidate instead of seeking reelection in 2024. Senators John Hickenlooper, Gary Peters, and Jon Tester publicly urged Manchin not to run for president in 2024 and to instead seek reelection.
On May 31, 2024, Manchin announced that he would leave the Democratic Party and file as an Independent, though he will remain a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus, alongside fellow Independent Senators Bernie Sanders, Angus King, and Kyrsten Sinema. By remaining in the Senate Democratic Caucus, Manchin may remain chair of the Senate Energy Committee for the remainder of the 118th United States Congress, unless Senate majority leadership replaces him, which is not expected to happen. In the statement issued alongside his announcement filing as an Independent, Manchin accused both the Republican and Democratic parties of "partisan extremism" and of "leaving West Virginia behind for partisan politics". He said that to "stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America's sensible majority."
Tenure
Obama years (2010–2017)
Manchin was first sworn in to the U.S. Senate by Vice President Joe Biden on November 15, 2010, succeeding interim Senator Carte Goodwin. In a 2014 New York Times interview, Manchin said his relationship with Obama was "fairly nonexistent."
Trump years (2017–2021)
According to FiveThirtyEight, which tracks congressional votes, Manchin voted with Trump's position 50.4% of the time during his presidency.
Manchin initially welcomed Trump's presidency, saying, "He'll correct the trading policies, the imbalance in our trade policies, which are horrible." He supported the idea of Trump "calling companies to keep them from moving factories overseas". Manchin voted for most of Trump's cabinet nominees. He was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, one of two Democrats to vote to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, and one of three to vote to confirm Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Manchin voted for Trump's first two Supreme Court nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. In the former case, he was one of three Democrats (alongside Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp) to vote to confirm; in the latter case, he was the only one. He opposed the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, citing the closeness to the upcoming presidential election.
Manchin voted to convict in both Trump impeachment trials.
Biden years (2021–present)
According to data journalism site FiveThirtyEight, Manchin has voted with Biden's position 87.9% of the time as of January 2023. Because the Senate was evenly divided between Democratic and Republican members during the early portion of the Biden administration, Manchin's ability to deny Democrats a majority made him very influential.
In January 2022, The Hill reported that Manchin "spent heavily on private security" during the last three months of 2021 "as he became a prime target for progressive protesters angry at his role blocking a reconciliation package in the Senate". According to The Hill, "climate change protesters surrounded Manchin’s car in a parking garage in early November. In October, protesters in kayaks swarmed Manchin’s yacht, parked at a Washington marina where he lives". Furthermore, "a source close to Manchin told The Hill the senator and his family had been subjected to specific threats, both in Washington and in West Virginia".
On March 25, 2022, Manchin announced that he would vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
On November 9, 2023, Manchin announced that he will not seek reelection in 2024. He said that his decision was made "after months of deliberation and long conversations" with his family, adding that he would instead be "traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together".
In early 2024, Manchin announced he was registering as independent, and later that year announced he would not run for reelection, but did not rule out running for office in the future. Jim Justice won the West Virginia Senate seat Manchin vacated.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (chair)
- As chair of the full committee, Manchin serves as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Cybersecurity
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Previous committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations (2017–2025)
- Committee on Armed Services (2010–2025)
- Special Committee on Aging (2011–2013; 2013–2015)
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (2013–2015)
- Commmittee on the Budget (2010–2011)
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (2015–2017)
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2011–2025)
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (2010–2011)
- Committee on Rules and Administration (2010–2011)
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs (2015–2025)
- Select Committee on Intelligence (2017–2019)
- Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (2019–2021)
Caucus membership
- Congressional Coalition on Adoption
Funding
Manchin received the most funding from the oil and gas industry of any senator from May 2020 to May 2021, including $1.6 million in donations from fossil fuel PACs. He also receives funding from individuals and PACs connected to law and real estate, among others.
In June 2021, ExxonMobil lobbyist Keith McCoy said that Manchin was one of its key targets for funding and that he participated in weekly meetings with the company.
On September 30, 2021, an MSNBC news reporter asked Manchin about his opposition to the Build Back Better Act, accusing him of having a conflict of interest with provisions within the bill: "Sir, the company you founded, Enersystems, provides coal to power plants that would be impacted by one of the proposals in the plan. How is that not a conflict of interest?" Manchin replied, "I've been in a blind trust for 20 years. I have no idea what they're doing."
Presidential politics
In 2023, Manchin "stoked rumors about his presidential ambitions by holding a call with No Labels supporters and meeting with influential community leaders from Iowa, a state that holds outsized sway in guiding the trajectory of the presidential primaries". In May 2023, and again in June 2023, he refused to rule out running for president of the United States as a third-party candidate in 2024. Reports indicated that the centrist group No Labels was seeking to support a third-party presidential campaign and that the organization viewed Manchin as a potential candidate.
Manchin now serves as a No Labels National Co-Chair, and on July 17, 2023, he and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. headlined a No Labels Common Sense Agenda Town Hall in Manchester, New Hampshire.
On February 15, 2024, during a City Club of Cleveland forum, he said he would pick U.S. senator Mitt Romney or former U.S. senator Rob Portman as his running mate if he ran for president.
On February 16, 2024, Manchin announced that he would not run for president.
After President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race on July 21, 2024, Manchin expressed interest in running for president at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, but opted not to, saying he would have preferred that the convention be an open contest. After Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate, Manchin said, "I can think of no one better than Governor Walz to help bring our country closer together", although he refrained from formally endorsing Harris. Manchin ultimately refused to endorse Harris, citing her call to end the filibuster in the United States Senate.
Political positions
Education
In February 2019, Manchin said the collapse of an omnibus education reform proposal resulted from state lawmakers not laying the groundwork for broad support for the proposal. Manchin said, "You don't do major reform, policy changes, for the whole education system in a 60-day session without public hearings. There should have been a whole year of going out and speaking to the public." He stated his support for homeschooling and private schools as well as his opposition to funding "them with public dollars."
Energy and environment
Manchin criticized President Barack Obama's environmental regulations as a "war on coal" and demanded what he called a proper balance between the needs of the environment and the coal business.
In June 2017, Manchin supported President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, saying he supported "a cleaner energy future" but that the Paris deal failed to strike "a balance between our environment and the economy."
In October 2021, The Guardian named Manchin one of the United States' top "climate villains", writing that he "uses his position to hold climate legislation hostage on behalf of the fossil fuel industry".
Federal budget
Manchin has co-sponsored balanced budget amendments put forth by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Mark Udall (D-CO). He has also voted against raising the federal debt ceiling.
Guns
Manchin partnered with Republican senator Pat Toomey to introduce a bill that would have strengthened background checks on gun sales. The Manchin-Toomey bill was defeated on April 17, 2013, by a vote of 54–46; 60 votes would have been required to pass it.
In a March 2018 interview, a month after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and shortly before the March For Our Lives demonstrations, Manchin stated that the Manchin-Toomey bill should serve as the base for a new gun control law.
Health care
In 2010, Manchin called for "repairs" of the Affordable Care Act and repeal of the "bad parts of Obamacare." On January 14, 2017, Manchin expressed concern at the strict party-line vote on repealing Obamacare and said he could not, in good conscience, vote to repeal without a new plan in place. He added, however, that he was willing to work with Trump and the GOP to formulate a replacement. In July 2017, he said that he was one of about ten senators from both parties who had been "working together behind the scenes" to formulate a new health-care program, but that there was otherwise insufficient bipartisanship on the issue.
In September 2017, Manchin released a statement expressing that he was skeptical of a single-payer health care system being "the right solution" while noting his support for the Senate considering "all of the options through regular order so that we can fully understand the impacts of these ideas on both our people and our economy."
In January 2019, Manchin was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019, a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis. It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care.
Immigration
Manchin is opposed to the DREAM Act, and was absent from a 2010 vote on the bill. He supports construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States. He opposed the Obama administration's lawsuit against Arizona over that state's immigration enforcement law. Manchin voted against the McCain-Coons proposal to create a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants without funding for a border wall and he voted against a comprehensive immigration bill proposed by Susan Collins which gave a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers as well as funding for border security.
Manchin voted to withhold funding for "sanctuary cities" and in support of President Trump's proposal to give a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, build a border wall, and reduce legal immigration. On June 18, 2018, he came out against the Trump administration family separation policy. In September 2019, Manchin was the only Democrat on the Senate Appropriations panel to vote for a $71 billion homeland security measure that granted Trump the $5 billion he had previously requested to build roughly 200 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senior citizens
To help locate missing senior citizens, Manchin introduced the Silver Alert Act in July 2011 to create a nationwide network for locating missing adults and senior citizens modeled after the AMBER Alert. Manchin also sponsored the National Yellow Dot Act to create a voluntary program that would alert emergency services personnel responding to car accidents of the availability of personal and medical information on the car's owner.
Manchin said in 2014 that he "would change Social Security completely. I would do it on an inflationary basis, as far as paying into payroll taxes, and change that, to keep us stabilized as far as cash flow. I'd do COLAs—I'd talk about COLA for 250 percent of poverty guidelines." Asked whether this meant he would "cut benefits to old people," Manchin said that "a rich old person ... won't get the COLAs." He asked: "Do you want chained CPI? I can live with either one."
Economics
In 2018, Manchin was one of 17 Democrats to break with their party and vote with Republicans to ease the Dodd-Frank banking rules.
Manchin opposed Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He called it "a closed process" that "makes little impact in the paychecks of the people in his state." At the same time, he posited the bill contains "some good things ... Initially people will benefit," although ultimately voting against it. In turn, NRSC spokesman Bob Salera stated that he had "turned his back and voted with Washington Democrats."
Manchin opposed the January 2018 government shutdown. The New York Times suggested that he helped end the shutdown by threatening not to run for reelection unless his fellow Democrats ended it.
In March 2019, Manchin was a cosponsor of a bipartisan bill to undo a drafting error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that mandated stores and restaurants to have to write off the costs of renovations over the course of 39 years via authorizing businesses to immediately deduct the entirety of costs of renovations.
On February 2, 2021, Manchin announced his opposition to an increase from $7.25 to $15 per hour in the federal minimum wage, but said he was open to a smaller increase, perhaps to $11, and higher for parts of the country with a higher cost of living, like Massachusetts, New York, and California. He also argued that the minimum wage should be index-linked, saying, "Once it gets above $11 it should be indexed, so it never becomes a political football again." Along with seven other Democrats, Manchin opposed a $15 minimum wage proposal by Bernie Sanders as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and forced Democrats to limit extended unemployment benefits in the same bill.
Veterans
In February 2017, Manchin and Roy Blunt introduced the HIRE Veterans Act, which establishes a tiered recognition program within the Department of Labor to award employers based on their contributions to veteran employment. The legislation passed in April 2017.
In January 2019, Manchin was one of five senators to cosponsor the VA Provider Accountability Act, a bipartisan bill meant to amend Title 38 of the United States Code to authorize the under secretary of health to report "major adverse personnel actions" related to certain health care employees at the National Practitioner Data Bank along with applicable state licensing boards.
In July 2019, Manchin and Republican Marsha Blackburn introduced the Providing Veterans Access to In-State Tuition Act, a bill that would remove a three-year post-discharge requirement and thereby enable student veterans eligibility to receive in-state tuition rates from public schools in the event they decide to use their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.
In August 2019, Manchin and Capito announced a collection of grants that totaled to over $7 million intended to aid homeless veterans under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program.
Legacy
From 2021 until he became an Independent in 2024, Manchin was the only Democrat holding congressional or statewide partisan office in West Virginia. Although Democrats have not won West Virginia in a presidential election since 1996, or even a single county in the state since 2012, Manchin held his U.S. Senate seat from 2010 to 2025.
In September 2018, GQ called Manchin "the last Democrat in Trump country." In October 2021, Richard Luscombe wrote in The Guardian that Manchin was a Democrat in name only because he opposed Biden's Build Back Better Act. In November 2023, the Associated Press called Manchin "the last in a line of formidable West Virginia Democrats who promoted coal interests", in line with Manchin's predecessors such as Robert Byrd, Jay Rockefeller, and Jennings Randolph.
Senator Jon Tester said, "Manchin is going to be remembered as somebody who has been difficult to work with, but got a lot of things done". Tester unsuccessfully tried to persuade Manchin to change the Senate filibuster. Journalist Burgess Everett said Manchin's "name is now synonymous with any single member of Congress who's willing to hold up an entire party's agenda".
Personal life
Manchin is a member of the National Rifle Association and a licensed pilot. He married Gayle Heather Conelly on August 5, 1967. Together they have three children: Heather Manchin Bresch, Joseph IV, and Brooke.
Manchin is Catholic.
In 2006 and 2010, Manchin delivered commencement addresses at Wheeling Jesuit University and at Davis & Elkins College, receiving honorary degrees from both institutions.
In December 2012, Manchin voiced his displeasure with MTV's new reality show Buckwild, which was set in his home state's capital of Charleston. He asked the network's president to cancel the show, contending that it depicted West Virginia in a negative, unrealistic fashion. The show ended after its first season.
In a lawsuit filed in July 2014, John Manchin II, one of Manchin's brothers, sued Manchin and his other brother, Roch Manchin, over a $1.7 million loan. The lawsuit alleged that Joe and Roch Manchin borrowed the money to keep the doors open at the family-owned carpet business run by Roch, that no part of the loan had yet been repaid, and that the defendants had taken other measures to evade compensating John Manchin II for non-payment. John Manchin II withdrew the suit on June 30, 2015.
As of 2018, according to OpenSecrets.org, Manchin's net worth was more than $7.6 million.
Manchin lives on a houseboat in the Potomac River when in Washington.
Electoral history
1982
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin, III | 7,687 | 21.15% | |
| Democratic | Cody A. Starcher (incumbent) | 6,844 | 18.83% | |
| Democratic | William E. Stewart | 6,391 | 17.59% | |
| Democratic | Samuel A. Morasco | 4,250 | 11.70% | |
| Democratic | Nick Fantasia | 5,072 | 13.96% | |
| Democratic | Donald L. Smith | 3,276 | 9.02% | |
| Democratic | J. Lonnie Bray | 2,819 | 7.76% | |
| Total votes | 36,339 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 16,160 | N/A | |
| Democratic | Cody A. Starcher (incumbent) | 16,110 | N/A | |
| Democratic | William E. Stewart | 15,090 | N/A | |
| Republican | Benjamin N. Springston (incumbent) | 12,166 | N/A | |
| Republican | Paul E. Prunty (incumbent) | 14,620 | N/A | |
| Democratic | Samuel A. Morasco | 11,741 | N/A | |
| Republican | Edgar L. Williams III | 5,702 | N/A | |
| Republican | Lyman Clark | 5,270 | N/A | |
| Democratic hold | ||||
1986
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin, III | 10,691 | 56.53% | |
| Democratic | Jack May | 8,220 | 43.47% | |
| Total votes | 18,911 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin, III | 17,284 | 65.87% | |
| Republican | Lyman Clark | 8,955 | 34.13% | |
| Total votes | 26,239 | 100.0% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
1988
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin III (incumbent) | 13,932 | 63.58% | |
| Democratic | Anthony J. Yanero | 7,981 | 36.42% | |
| Total votes | 21,913 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin III (incumbent) | 29,792 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 29,792 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
1992
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin III (incumbent) | 17,238 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 17,238 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin III (incumbent) | 33,218 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 33,218 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
1996
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Charlotte Pritt | 130,107 | 39.54% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 107,124 | 32.56% | |
| Democratic | Jim Lees | 64,100 | 19.48% | |
| Democratic | Larrie Bailey | 15,733 | 4.78% | |
| Democratic | Bobbie Edward Myers | 3,038 | 0.92% | |
| Democratic | Lyle Sattes | 2,931 | 0.89% | |
| Democratic | Bob Henry Baber | 1,456 | 0.44% | |
| Democratic | Louis J. Davis | 1,351 | 0.41% | |
| Democratic | Frank Rochetti | 1,330 | 0.40% | |
| Democratic | Richard E. Koon | 1,154 | 0.35% | |
| Democratic | Fred Schell | 733 | 0.22% | |
| Total votes | 329,057 | 100.00% | ||
2000
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin, III | 141,839 | 51.08% | |
| Democratic | Charlotte Pritt | 80,148 | 28.86% | |
| Democratic | Mike Oliverio | 35,424 | 12.76% | |
| Democratic | Bobby Nelson | 20,259 | 7.30% | |
| Total votes | 277,670 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin, III | 478,489 | 89.44% | |
| Libertarian | Poochie Myers | 56,477 | 10.56% | |
| Total votes | 534,966 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2004
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 149,362 | 52.73% | |
| Democratic | Lloyd M. Jackson II | 77,052 | 27.20% | |
| Democratic | Jim Lees | 40,161 | 14.18% | |
| Democratic | Lacy Wright, Jr. | 4,963 | 1.75% | |
| Democratic | Jerry Baker | 3,009 | 1.06% | |
| Democratic | James A. Baughman | 2,999 | 1.06% | |
| Democratic | Phillip Frye | 2,892 | 1.02% | |
| Democratic | Lou Davis | 2,824 | 1.00% | |
| Total votes | 283,262 | 100.00% | ||
| 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 472,758 | 63.51% | +13.39% | |
| Republican | Monty Warner | 253,131 | 34.00% | -13.21% | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 18,430 | 2.48% | +0.87% | |
| Write-in | 114 | 0.02% | +0.01% | ||
| Margin of victory | 219,627 | 29.50% | +26.58% | ||
| Total votes | 744,433 | ||||
| Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
2008
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 264,775 | 74.62% | |
| Democratic | Mel Kessler | 90,074 | 25.38% | |
| Total votes | 354,849 | 100.00% | ||
| 2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 492,697 | 69.81% | +6.30% | |
| Republican | Russ Weeks | 181,612 | 25.73% | -8.27% | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 31,486 | 4.46% | +1.99% | |
| Margin of victory | 311,085 | 44.08% | +14.57% | ||
| Total votes | 705,795 | 100% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
2010
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 67,498 | 72.9% | |
| Democratic | Ken Hechler | 16,039 | 17.3% | |
| Democratic | Sheirl Fletcher | 9,035 | 9.8% | |
| Total votes | 92,572 | 100.0% | ||
| 2010 United States Senate special election in West Virginia results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin | 283,358 | 53.47% | -10.96% | |
| Republican | John Raese | 230,013 | 43.40% | +9.69% | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 10,152 | 1.92% | +0.06% | |
| Constitution | Jeff Becker | 6,425 | 1.21% | N/A | |
| Majority | 53,345 | 10.07% | |||
| Total votes | 529,948 | 100% | |||
| Democrat hold | |||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 163,891 | 79.9% | |
| Democratic | Sheirl Fletcher | 41,118 | 20.1% | |
| Total votes | 205,009 | 100% | ||
| 2012 United States Senate election in West Virginia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 399,908 | 60.57% | +7.10% | |
| Republican | John Raese | 240,787 | 36.47% | -6.93% | |
| Mountain | Bob Henry Baber | 19,517 | 2.96% | +1.04% | |
| Total votes | 660,212 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Democrat hold | |||||
2018
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 112,658 | 69.86% | |
| Democratic | Paula Jean Swearengin | 48,594 | 30.14% | |
| Total votes | 161,252 | 100% | ||
| 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 290,510 | 49.57% | -11.0% | |
| Republican | Patrick Morrisey | 271,113 | 46.26% | +9.79% | |
| Libertarian | Rusty Hollen | 24,411 | 4.17% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 586,034 | 100% | N/A | ||
| Democrat hold | |||||
See also
In Spanish: Joe Manchin para niños
