Many Differences Between Candidates in West Virginia's U.S. Senate Race

 

 

By Fred Pace

October 22, 2018 - Incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is likely facing his toughest battle for re-election in his long career as an elected official in light of the changing political landscape in West Virginia.

Since he was last elected in 2012, the governor's office and the Legislature have flipped to Republican control and the GOP's Donald Trump received overwhelming support in the 2016 presidential election.

Now Manchin is going up against current West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is being backed by Trump as the president hopes to keep a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.

Both candidates point out their differences from each other.

"I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be born and raised in West Virginia in Farmington and understand who we are as a people in a little coal mining town, like most of West Virginia," Manchin said. "I really know who we are and what we need."

Manchin's comments come from a telephone interview with The Herald-Dispatch's editorial board last week.

Manchin said he is proud of his record of public service.

"I have had the unbelievable opportunity to serve my state in so many capacities and brag about who we are," he said.

Manchin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1982, elected to the state Senate in 1986, elected to serve as the state's 27th secretary of state from 2001-05 and served as the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005-10.

In 2010, Manchin won the special election to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Robert C. Byrd when he died in office. Manchin was elected to a full term in 2012 with 60 percent of the vote.

Morrisey was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Edison, New Jersey. Today, he is a resident of Harpers Ferry.

In 2012, Morrisey ran for attorney general against Darrell McGraw, a five-term incumbent. He defeated McGraw and was sworn in on Jan. 14, 2013, making him the first Republican state attorney general to serve in West Virginia since 1933.

Morrisey did not respond to requests for an interview, but in a candidate column he said he was proud of his record.

"When the people of West Virginia elected me to serve as their attorney general, I pledged to stand up for our constitutional rights and to protect our citizens from those who sought to do us harm," he wrote. "After years of being abused by President Obama and his liberal friends in Washington, I said, 'Enough is enough.' I sued President Obama's administration several times. One of the proudest moments came when we beat President Obama's EPA at the Supreme Court and killed his Clean Power Plan that had hurt so many coal families and businesses."

Here's where the two candidates stand on various issues, based on questionnaires they filled out and an editorial board interview with Manchin. Morrisey did not respond to an invitation for an editorial board interview.

Health Care

Manchin says there is a clear difference between the candidates when it comes to health care.

"My opponent is trying to take away health care for those with pre-existing conditions," Manchin said. "I have begged him to drop his lawsuit and show that he has a heart and soul because 800,000 people could lose all protections whatsoever."

Manchin is referring to a lawsuit filed in a U.S. district court in Texas on Feb. 26. The lawsuit was signed by 18 attorneys general and two governors, all of them Republicans. The suit challenges the Affordable Care Act, arguing that "the ACA is unlawful" and seeking to enjoin, or block, its operation.

Morrisey has denied Manchin's claim that he is trying to take away coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

"There is no debate that we must help those with pre-existing conditions," Morrisey said in a July 20 statement to the Charleston Gazette-Mail through his spokesman, Nathan Brand.

Opioid Epidemic

Both Manchin and Morrisey said fighting the state's opioid epidemic is a priority.

"Opioid addiction is absolutely destroying our state," Manchin said. "We need treatment to stop the scourge from going on, and I am fighting back at every angle I possibly can."

In his candidate profile, Morrisey wrote that his office has worked tirelessly to tackle the opioid addiction.

"We have achieved the largest pharmaceutical settlement in state history - $47 million for 12 wholesalers," Morrisey wrote. "We launched the first-ever substance abuse fighting unit in West Virginia. We also created a faith-based drug initiative to work with pastors, preachers and other religious entities to make sure there are more substance abuse treatment options in the state. We joined with the Northern District U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute many drug dealers, and are working with other states to convince insurance companies to change the incentives that encourage doctors to prescribe addictive opioids. Most significantly, we recently sued the federal government and convinced the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to impose major reforms to limit opioid supply across the country."

However, prior to becoming attorney general, Morrisey did lobby for the Healthcare Distribution Management Association, a group that represents drug wholesalers, and his wife has been a lobbyist for several major pharmaceutical clients.

Coal Miners

Manchin says he also continues to fight for miners.

"It took me three years just to get the miners their health care, and now we are fighting for their pensions," he said. "That should have already been done, but Mitch McConnell has fought us every step of the way. I am committed to getting that done, hopefully by the end of the year."

Manchin claims Republicans are trying to roll back mine safety regulations.

"If you want to roll back safety regulations, then you've never sat through a mine disaster and have seen what I have seen the pain and suffering the people endure," he said.

Morrisey wrote in his candidate profile that the rollbacks in regulations have to do with jobs and not safety issues.

"President Trump has accomplished great things for our state already, from rolling back job-killing regulations, to cutting taxes, to appointing conservative judges and justices," he wrote. "But President Trump needs more conservative reinforcements to continue the fight."

Kavanaugh Vote

Morrisey has said in the past that he supported the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court from the day President Trump nominated him and called Manchin's last-minute vote in support of Kavanaugh's confirmation "a political decision."

However, Manchin says his vote to confirm Kavanaugh was based on facts.

"He is somebody that understands the Constitution, somebody that has experience, has good standing in the community and a good educational background," Manchin said. "Well, this guy has been on the D.C. court for 12 years and I wanted to evaluate how he had ruled on different cases in different categories. So we went through all of that, and that took quite a while. I met with him for two hours and then I wanted to wait for him to go through the judicial hearing, and that went for three or four days. Then the accusations came out against him, and I asked for an FBI investigation. I went through it and there was no evidence at all that said those two people, Dr. Ford and Brent Kavanaugh, were in the same place in the same area with the same group of friends. I made a decision based on the facts in front of me. Some people want to say it was a political decision, but it was not a political decision. A political decision is when you make it the same day or the same week without even looking at the facts."

Manchin called the confirmation process for Kavanaugh "a circus."

"Being a circus, I just have to apologize," he said. "For the U.S. Senate to put on such a display, on both sides arguing and screaming at each other, was just wrong. The whole thing was a horrible mess."

In the aftermath of that vote, both Manchin and Morrisey claimed the whole confirmation process has energized their respective parties for the upcoming general election.

Social Security and Medicare

Manchin says he is against privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

"I have a record for protecting Social Security and Medicare," Manchin said. "One adjustment I would make is to take the cap off the FICA tax or at least double or triple the cap amount. Very few make more than $128,000, and for those that do make more that's not going to change their lives at all."

Manchin said about 60 percent of retired West Virginians rely totally on Social Security and Medicare.

"It's not an entitlement; these folks have earned it, and I will continue to fight to protect them," he said.

Manchin says he supports allowing Medicare to negotiate for generic drugs over brand-name pharmaceutical drugs.

"This would change the cash flow immediately," he said. "I also had a bipartisan bill to reduce premiums 20 to 40 percent for Medicare, but Mitch McConnell would not let it come to the floor for a vote."

Manchin claimed Morrisey wanted to privatize Social Security when he was in New Jersey.

"Privatization is a poor choice," Manchin said.

Morrisey did not address Social Security and Medicare in his candidate profile.

Other Issues

Manchin is known for his bipartisanship, voting or working with Republicans on issues such as abortion and gun ownership. He opposed the energy policies of President Barack Obama, voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, voted for removing federal funding from Planned Parenthood in 2015, and voted to confirm most of Republican President Trump's cabinet and judicial appointees.

However, Manchin has repeatedly voted against attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), voted to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood in 2017 and voted against the 2017 Republican tax plan.

Manchin has complained about the "toxic" lack of bipartisanship in Congress on almost every issue.

"Both sides play the blame game," he said. "I don't play that game. There is not any person in Congress more bipartisan than me."

Morrisey wrote that while Manchin has spent years in public service, he does not share West Virginians' conservative values and he has not supported Trump in the U.S. Senate.

"If we don't stand up for our conservative values, no one else will," Morrisey wrote. "That's why I launched an investigation into West Virginia's lax abortion laws and led the fight for the Pain Capable Child Protection Act to defend the most innocent life among us. That's why I fought hard to protect our Second Amendment rights by working with other states to expand concealed carry reciprocity with over a dozen states across the country. And that's why I joined other states to support President Trump's efforts to shut down sanctuary cities."

Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 24, in West Virginia.

 

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 6.