{"id":1987474,"date":"2023-08-01T04:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T08:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-manchin-remains-undecided-but-west-virginia-senate-race-has-started-without-him\/"},"modified":"2023-08-01T04:12:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T08:12:16","slug":"joe-manchin-remains-undecided-but-west-virginia-senate-race-has-started-without-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-manchin-remains-undecided-but-west-virginia-senate-race-has-started-without-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Manchin&#8217;s indecision leaves West Virginia Senate race underway without him."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjoe-manchin-remains-undecided-but-west-virginia-senate-race-has-started-without-him%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1987474&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The\u2064 2024 Race for Sen. Joe Manchin&#8217;s Senate Seat<\/h2>\n<p>The 2024\u200c race\u2062 for Sen. Joe Manchin&#8217;s\u200d coveted Senate seat is well underway despite the incumbent \u2064Democrat \u2062refusing\u2063 to say if he&#8217;ll throw his hat in the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Manchin, \u200da centrist\u2062 Democrat representing the now heavily \u200cRepublican state, \u2062has yet to decide if he&#8217;ll run for a third full term in 2024 and maintains that he\u200b is still unsure what\u200b he&#8217;ll do.\u200b He has also\u200b fiercely defended plans from the\u200b centrist group No Labels to create a third-party presidential \u2062ticket amid speculation that \u2062he could be\u2063 their nominee.<\/p>\n<h3>Gov. \u200cJim Justice: Manchin&#8217;s Main GOP Competitor<\/h3>\n<p>Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), a Democrat-turned-Republican, \u200cis the only GOP candidate in the ruby-red state who polls competitively against Manchin, a longtime friend-turned-political foe. Manchin, a former governor himself, had endorsed Justice in his \u2063crowded 2016 gubernatorial primary \u2062race\u200d when the latter announced his party switch.<\/p>\n<p>Justice,\u2062 who boasts impressively\u200c high approval ratings in the state, \u200bhas also polled well\u2063 ahead of his main\u200d primary competitor, \u2063Rep. Alex Mooney \u2064(R-WV), who launched\u200d his Senate bid late\u200d last year.<\/p>\n<p>The House lawmaker has the backing of the conservative Club for \u2064Growth, which has \u200dbeen \u2064blanketing the airwaves with campaign ads \u2063painting Justice as an out-of-touch &#8220;RINO,&#8221; \u200dor Republican in name only. The\u2062 governor, meanwhile, \u2064has the full \u2062support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.<\/p>\n<h3>The NRSC&#8217;s Strategy for 2024<\/h3>\n<p>Senate Minority\u2062 Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) \u2062and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who chairs the NRSC this cycle,\u200c have worked for months to recruit the most\u200b electable candidates in\u2063 must-win swing states\u200d to retake the majority\u200d next \u2064year. Both men have said their path to victory \u2062relies \u2062on \u200dwins\u2063 in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West \u2063Virginia, four states with Democratic incumbents up for reelection. \u200cDemocrats currently\u2063 only control the Senate by a 51-49 margin, meaning Republicans only need to net two seats to win \u200cback control.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) chaired the NRSC in the 2022\u2063 cycle and sparred with McConnell \u200cpublicly and privately over primary strategy. The NRSC\u200d remained neutral in the 2022 primary process as former President Donald Trump\u2064 got involved, which led to several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-manchin-remains-undecided-but-west-virginia-senate-race-has-started-without-him\/\" title=\"Joe Manchin's indecision leaves West Virginia Senate race underway without him.\">controversial candidates reaching general election voters<\/a>. \u200bThose nominees faltered in \u200drace after race and ultimately cost Republicans control of the Senate. The losses were a core \u200dreason for the \u20642024 \u2062strategy changes.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 NRSC \u2063has gotten involved in the\u2062 Montana, Pennsylvania, and \u2064West Virginia GOP primaries to boost leadership&#8217;s preferred\u2064 candidates, including Justice. \u200dIn \u2063Ohio, however, the party&#8217;s Senate campaign arm has stayed out \u2062of \u200bthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sunny-hostin-slams-desantis-for-announcing-with-unpopular-elon-musk-her-own-producers-fact-check-her-on-the-air\/\" title=\"Sunny Hostin criticizes DeSantis for partnering with Elon Musk, but her producers fact-check her live.\">growing primary field<\/a> given the quality of candidates leading\u200d that race.<\/p>\n<h3>Justice&#8217;s Financial\u2062 Challenges<\/h3>\n<p>Justice&#8217;s family business oversees an\u2062 empire \u2063of \u2062coal mines, processing facilities, \u2062agricultural \u2062companies,\u2063 and\u2063 the landmark Greenbrier resort in his home state. The Justice family businesses, as \u200bwell as the governor and his children, have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/actblue-fined-for-facilitating-nearly-44000-in-illegal-contributions\/\" title=\"ActBlue Fined for Facilitating Nearly ,000 in Illegal Contributions\">faced increased scrutiny<\/a> over their nearly $1 billion in debt since entering the race to unseat \u200bManchin.<\/p>\n<p>The governor&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">net worth rose<\/a> to its \u2064highest\u2062 point in 2009, when he was valued at $1.7 billion after selling Bluestone Resources Inc., \u2064the company that oversees the family\u2019s coal operations, to Mechel PAO, a Russian coal producer with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, \u2063for more than $400 million in cash and several hundred million dollars in\u200b stock options. The\u200c deal \u200cwas estimated to be worth over $1.5 \u200bbillion. The value of\u2063 his vast fortune\u200d plummeted, however, after Justice \u2062bought back Bluestone in 2015 for just $5 \u2064million \u200dplus royalty \u200bpayments on future coal\u200d sales.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the price\u2064 drop, buying back Bluestone\u200d appeared to be the beginning of Justice&#8217;s financial woes.<\/p>\n<p>The firm was a money pit, facing scores of\u2063 lawsuits\u2063 that continue to damage\u2062 the \u2064company&#8217;s overall financial \u200cposition. While coal prices rebounded early last year after Russia invaded Ukraine, it has not been enough\u200d to revive the firm.<\/p>\n<p>Making \u200cmatters more difficult \u200cfor Justice is the $850 \u2062million in personally backed \u200bloans he \u2063and his children\u200d took out from \u200bGreensill Capital, which collapsed \u2063in early 2021. \u200dJustice and his children, \u200dwhom\u2063 he handed control of the family companies over to upon taking office as governor, have been in dispute with Credit Suisse Group AG, Grensill&#8217;s main financing partner, over paying back \u200dthe sum since\u2064 the firm \u2064went under.<\/p>\n<p>They struck a \u200drepayment \u200dagreement last summer\u2063 that would have Justice \u200cpay back as much \u200das $320 \u200bmillion in installments from cash generated through Bluestone. The deal reduced how much Justice would be responsible for paying back from $850 million to $620\u2063 million.<\/p>\n<p>Justice \u2063has\u2063 said he turned \u200bto\u2064 Greensill for help with rebuilding the company and described the debt in June 2021 \u200cas &#8220;a burden on our family beyond belief, and we\u2019ll have to deal with \u2064it.\u200d It\u2019s tough. It is really tough.&#8221; He has also denied any wrongdoing by him or his companies, \u2064saying &#8220;we didn\u2019t have one earthly clue&#8221; of the problems that would emerge from\u200b borrowing so much from Greensill.<\/p>\n<p>Justice&#8217;s financial situation has cost \u2062him his status as West Virginia&#8217;s richest person. Forbes magazine, which does the tally,\u2064 knocked Justice from the top spot\u200d in May\u2064 &#8220;due to heavy debts,&#8221; replacing him with\u200d Brad Smith,\u200b the president of Marshall University, who has an estimated $700 million net worth.<\/p>\n<h3>The NRSC&#8217;s Support for Justice<\/h3>\n<p>For its\u200b part, the NRSC has \u2062stood behind \u2062its candidate of choice, going as far as to condemn the Justice Department for filing suit against \u200dJustice&#8217;s coal empire over &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doj-announces-lawsuit-against-republican-governors-son\/\" title=\"Biden's DOJ sues GOP governor's son.\">unpaid civil penalties<\/a>&#8221; in late May. The 128-page suit \u2062against the Justices \u200band 13 of their coal companies alleges &#8220;over\u2062 130 violations\u2062 of federal law, thereby posing health\u2062 and safety risks \u2064to the public and the environment,&#8221; Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim \u200bsaid in a statement on the charges.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Joe Biden\u2019s Department of \u2064Justice \u2064has\u2064 gone\u200c totally rogue,&#8221; NRSC \u200bspokesman Tate Mitchell said\u200d in a statement at the \u200dtime. &#8220;Democrats weaponizing the\u200b federal government to attack the family of a Republican Senate candidate is a complete abuse of power.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked what \u2062made Justice such \u200da strong candidate in an\u2062 interview earlier this month, Daines said,\u2063 &#8220;I think he&#8217;s been a proven governor in West \u200bVirginia. He&#8217;s a very \u200cknown entity. Alex has represented\u200d half\u200d the state, Justice the entire state. And \u2062he relates very well to West \u2064Virginians, they\u200b know him, they trust him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2024-race-joe-manchin-senate-seat\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM\u2063 THE\u200b WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2024 race for Sen. Joe Manchin&#8217;s (D-WV) Senate seat is in progress, although he hasn&#8217;t confirmed his candidacy. Manchin, a centrist Democrat in a predominantly Republican state, is undecided about running for a third term in 2024. He continues to maintain his position on this matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1987475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1987474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1987474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1987475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1987474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1987474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1987474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}