Joe Manchin cuts ad for Republican congressman facing primary
Mr Manchin is one of the most popular politicians in West Virginia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is crossing party lines to back a Republican congressman who is facing a primary challenge from a colleague who is supported by former president Donald Trump.
Mr Manchin, a former Mountain State governor whose popularity at home has soared as he has single-handedly stymied much of President Joe Biden’s legislative programme, recently cut a campaign ad for GOP Representative David McKinley.
Mr McKinley is the dean of the West Virginia congressional delegation and has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District since 2011. But the state’s new district map has forced him into an intra-party primary match against Republican Representative Alex Mooney for the state’s newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District seat.
The advertisement, which was released on Friday, shows Mr Manchin looking straight-on into a camera to deliver an attack line against Mr Mooney: “Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us”.
Mr Manchin goes on to accuse Mr Mooney’s “out-of-state supporters” — a reference to Mr Mooney’s previous service in the Maryland state legislature and as chairman of the Maryland GOP — of telling an “outright lie” about Mr McKinley by suggesting he supported Mr Biden’s “Build Back Better” social spending package.
“David McKinley has always opposed reckless spending because it doesn’t make sense for West Virginia,” he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments