Joe Manchin opts against gubernatorial bid

Sen. Joe Manchin III on Tuesday announced he will not run for governor of West Virginia next year, saying he can help position the state for success in the years to come as a U.S. Senator.

“I have always said that ’public service is not self-service,’” the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. “So, when considering whether to run for governor, I couldn’t focus just on which job I enjoyed the most, but on where I could be the most effective for the Mountain State.”

“Ultimately, I believe my role as U.S. Senator allows me to position our state for success for the rest of this century,” he said, noting his role as the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and his membership on the Appropriations, Armed Services, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.

He said he’s not “beholden to the far left or the far right,” and said he’d work with President Trump but speak “truth to power” when he doesn’t agree with him

Mr. Manchin won re-election last year by about 3 points in a state that is trending Republican. He was governor of the state from 2005-2010, and had flirted with a gubernatorial bid in 2016.

Mr. Manchin was first elected to the Senate in 2010 after the death of the late Sen. Robert Byrd, and was re-elected to a six-year term in 2012.

But he said on Tuesday that serving as governor was “the greatest honor of my life” and that it was “the best job I ever had.”

If Mr. Manchin ran and won next year, he could have potentially named a successor, if temporarily, to the U.S. Senate.

But for now, his announcement on Tuesday saves Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer from scrambling to find a Democrat cut in Mr. Manchin’s mold who could compete statewide in a state Mr. Trump carried by about 42 points in 2016.

Current Gov. Jim Justice ran and won election as a Democrat in 2016. But Mr. Justice switched his party allegiance to Republican in 2017, making the announcement at a rally with Mr. Trump in the state.