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It's hard to know what exactly made Manchin decide to stay where he is and not run for #WVGov. But I'd guess part of it was he realized his state's politics have changed since he was last governor, and he'd be just as toothless and obstructed in that role as he is in the Senate.
WV's legislature has an unusual (and stupid) setup where the governor's veto can be overridden by simple majority, meaning if the opposing party controls the legislature, the governor's power is virtually nil.
Manchin would have lost every fight he picked with the legislature.
Manchin would have lost every fight he picked with the legislature.
But it gets even worse than that! WV state law says Manchin could have appointed someone to his empty seat — presumably a Democrat. But there would have been nothing to stop the WV legislature from changing the law in the lame duck session and saying he must appoint a Republican.
That means that if Manchin became gov and the Senate stood at 50 Dems, 49 GOP (or 49 Dems, 50 GOP + Trump lost re-election), the WV legislature would have effectively been issuing a decree that the entire U.S. Senate remain Republican regardless of what Americans voted for!
Manchin is a lot of things. One of those thing is a Senate institutionalist.
I think he was well aware that that scenario was a real possibility, and he didn't want to be responsible for triggering a constitutional crisis.
I think he was well aware that that scenario was a real possibility, and he didn't want to be responsible for triggering a constitutional crisis.
