Joe Manchin (born 24 August 1947) was a US Senator from West Virginia (D) from 15 November 2010 to 3 January 2025, succeeding Carte Goodwin and preceding Jim Justice. He previously served as Governor of West Virginia from 17 January 2005 to 15 November 2010, succeeding Bob Wise and preceding Earl Ray Tomblin.
Biography[]
Joe Manchin was born in Farmington, West Virginia, and he graduated from West Virginia University. He became involved with several family-owned businesses before being elected to the House of Delegates in 1982, the State Senate in 1986, and as Secretary of State of West Virginia in 2000. In 2004, he was elected Governor, and his approval rating was a popular 74%. He was then elected US Senator in 2010, and he was seen as a moderate or conservative Democrat. Manchin occasionally considered defecting to the Republican Party, and he agreed with Donald Trump 59.7% of the time. On 9 November 2023, he announced that he would not be seeking re-election to his Senate seat, although he kept open the option of running for President as the centrist "No Labels" PAC's nominee. He ultimately declined to run for President and left office in 2025.