“Ultimately, I believe my role as a U.S. Senator allows me to position West Virginia for success for the rest of this century,” Sen. Joe Manchin said Tuesday. | Tyler Evert Congress Joe Manchin skips run for governor The decision is likely to be a relief to Senate Democrats, who would ultimately struggle to hold on to the West Virginia seat.

Joe Manchin will not run for governor of West Virginia in 2020, the Democratic senator announced Tuesday.

The decision is likely to be a relief to Democrats, who would struggle to hold on to the seat in the future, and keeps one of the few remaining centrists in the Senate.


The move comes after months of Manchin flirting with a gubernatorial bid against Republican Gov. Jim Justice and complaining about Washington gridlock.

“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,” Manchin said in a statement.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Manchin noted his senior positions on the Energy and Appropriations panels: "I get to set policy. I get to make sure that West Virginia is not left out."

Manchin would not have had to give up his Senate seat to run and would have appointed his replacement if elected governor. Democrats, however, would have had difficulty keeping the seat when it would have been up for grabs in 2022.

Manchin faced a real challenge for his Senate reelection bid in 2018, beating GOP Attorney General Patrick Morrisey by 3 percentage points.

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Manchin, who was governor of the state from 2005 to 2010, would have had to run with President Donald Trump on the ballot. Trump won West Virginia by 42 points in 2016.

But a MetroNews Dominion Post West Virginia Poll last week showed that Manchin could beat Justice in a race for governor. The poll found that in a hypothetical matchup, 49 percent said they’d support Manchin, compared with 39 percent for Justice. Twelve percent were undecided.

Manchin supported Justice’s run for governor in 2016 when Justice was a Democrat; Justice, who was formerly a Republican, announced he had switched back to the GOP at a rally with Trump just months after he was elected governor.

Manchin told reporters he had not received pressure from national Democrats on the decison and said he announced his choice now to give others time to weigh a campaign.

Manchin signaled earlier this year that he was considering a run against Justice. In an April interview with POLITICO, Manchin said being governor of West Virginia was the “best job in the world.”

In his statement Tuesday, Manchin described being governor as the “greatest of honor of my life,” but added that he could do more for West Virginia in the Senate.

Manchin pledged to use his role as the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to push for energy technology legislation and said he would continue to fight to protect pensions for West Virginia's miners and to ensure health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Manchin is one of the few moderates left in the Senate, and his decision will keep a key swing vote in the upper chamber.

"There’s nobody trying to find the middle. Everybody is going for the sides, if you will, for the extremes," he told reporters. "It’s not how you get things done."

Last year, Manchin crossed party lines and voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. He’s also previously endorsed Republican colleague Susan Collins of Maine, who is facing a tough race for reelection in 2020.

Manchin has also partnered with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on legislation to expand background checks to all commercial sales, a proposal that has garnered renewed attention amid a wave of mass shootings this summer.

And he promised to continue to work with Trump when he can.

“As I have done since coming to Washington, I will work with the president to accomplish what best serves our state and our country and I will speak truth to power when I don’t agree with the path the President has chosen to take — that is what West Virginians elected me to do!” Manchin said in his statement.

James Arkin contributed to this report.