Joe Manchin, the outgoing U.S. Senator from West Virginia, has endorsed Glenn Elliott, the mayor of Wheeling, in the Democratic primary race for his Senate seat. West Virginia is a deeply conservative state, and Manchin is currently the only Democrat holding statewide office there.
In a video released by Elliott’s campaign, Manchin credited the mayor with creating jobs, reducing crime, and revitalizing downtown Wheeling, a city of about 26,000 people located on the Ohio River in the Appalachian Mountains. Manchin described Elliott as someone who has the “determination, vigor, and vitality” to do the work required in the Senate and said that Elliott would always fight for West Virginia, putting the state and country before partisan politics.
Manchin, who is 76 years old, announced last year that he would not seek reelection in 2024, citing the growing animosity between political parties in Congress as a reason for his decision. His choice to step down has made it more difficult for Democrats to hold on to the Senate seat in the heavily Republican state.
Elliott, a lawyer who has served as Wheeling’s mayor since 2016, acknowledges that winning the Senate seat will be a challenge. To secure the Democratic nomination on May 14, he must defeat opponents Zach Shrewsbury, a Marine Corps veteran, and Don Blankenship, a former coal executive. The Democratic nominee will then face either Republican Governor Jim Justice or U.S. Representative Alex Mooney in the general election.
Elliott, who previously worked as a legislative assistant to the late U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, believes that unions played a crucial role in building the American middle class and distinguishing the U.S. economy from other nations in the mid-20th century. He supports many of President Joe Biden’s policies, especially economic development spending packages like the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which provided Wheeling with $33 million to improve its downtown streetscape.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.