Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A moderate member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. He became the state's senior U.S. senator when Jay Rockefeller retired in 2015 and has since been West Virginia's only congressional Democrat. Before entering politics, Manchin helped found and was the president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates.
Manchin won the 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008. He won the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd's death with 53% of the vote, and in 2012 was elected to a full term with 61% of the vote. Manchin won a second term in 2018 with just under 50% of the vote. In both elections, he over-performed the Democratic presidential ticket by more than 40 percentage points. Since 2021, Manchin has been the only Democrat holding statewide or congressional office in West Virginia, and represents what is, by a large margin, the most Republican-leaning constituency of any Democrat in Congress.
Manchin has called himself a "centrist, moderate, conservative Democrat" and is generally cited as the most conservative Democrat in the Senate. He is known for working with Republicans on issues such as abortion, immigration, energy policy, and gun control. Manchin opposed President Barack Obama's energy policies, including reductions and restrictions on coal mining, voted against cloture for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (not voting on the bill itself), voted to remove federal funding for Planned Parenthood in 2015, supported President Donald Trump's border wall and immigration policies, and voted to confirm most of Trump's cabinet and judicial appointees, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He opposes many progressive priorities, such as Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, abolishing the filibuster, and expanding the Supreme Court.
Manchin has also voted against repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voted to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood in 2017, voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials, voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and was a Senate sponsor of the Inflation Reduction Act. He is among the more non-interventionist members of the Democratic caucus, having repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and opposed most military interventions in Syria.
After the 2020 elections, Manchin became the "most important swing vote" in the Senate, which was split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans, but controlled by Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris was the tiebreaker. Since passing legislation with only Democratic support required Manchin's vote, he wielded a large influence in the 117th Congress.
Early life and education
Joseph Manchin III was born on August 24, 1947, in Farmington, West Virginia, a small coal mining town. He is the second of five children of Mary O. (née Gouzd) and John Manchin. The name "Manchin" was derived from the Italian name "Mancini". His father was of Italian descent, and his paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from the town of San Giovanni in Fiore, in Calabria. Manchin's maternal grandparents were Czechoslovak immigrants.
Manchin's father owned a carpet and furniture store, and his grandfather, Joseph Manchin, owned a grocery store. His father and his grandfather each served as mayor of Farmington. Manchin's uncle, A. James Manchin, was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and later served as West Virginia Secretary of State and Treasurer.
Manchin graduated from Farmington High School in 1965. He entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965, but an injury during practice ended his football career. Manchin graduated in 1970 with a degree in business administration and went to work for his family's business.
Manchin has been a close friend of Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban since childhood.