Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), after weathering multiple attacks from within his own party, is now one of the ten most popular senators in the country.
Recent polling shows that Manchin — who has often positioned himself as a roadblock to agenda items driven by far-Left Democrats and even President Joe Biden’s White House — has seen his popularity in his home state surge by 16 points since Biden took office.
“Over the past year, @Sen_JoeManchin has seen the largest job approval rating improvement of any senator. It places him among America’s 10 most popular senators for the first time since Biden took office,” Morning Consult political reporter Eli Yokley tweeted.
NEW: Over the past year, @Sen_JoeManchin has seen the largest job approval rating improvement of any senator.
It places him among America’s 10 most popular senators for the first time since Biden took office. https://t.co/PXyvmdLlL2 pic.twitter.com/MPq40huOUt
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) April 25, 2022
According to the polls, much of the surge in Manchin’s popularity was actually driven by Republicans who like the way he has handled policies that would impact their state.
“West Virginia Republicans fueled a big improvement in Joe Manchin’s job approval rating over the course of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Yokley added.
West Virginia Republicans fueled a big improvement in Joe Manchin's job approval rating over the course of Joe Biden's presidency.
The @MorningConsult trend line tells the story –> https://t.co/PXyvmdLlL2 pic.twitter.com/kYzHvDRUqy
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) April 25, 2022
After warning on a number of occasions that he would not support Democratic plans to change Senate filibuster rules or massive spending packages that he believed would cause inflation to worsen, Manchin stood firm and blocked a December vote on President Biden’s signature Build Back Better package.
“I’ve always said this, Bret: if I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it, and I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible, I can’t get there,” Manchin told Fox News anchor Bret Baier at the time.
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it … this is a no.”@Sen_JoeManchin announced on Fox News Sunday that he will not vote for the Build Back Better bill.
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) December 19, 2021
“This is a no on this legislation,” Manchin continued. “I have tried everything I know to do and the president has worked diligently, he’s been wonderful to work with, he knows I’ve had concerns and the problems I’ve had and — you know, the thing we should all be is directing our attention towards the variants, the COVID that we have coming back at us in so many different aspects and different ways, it’s affecting our lives again. We have inflation that basically could harm — really harm a lot of Americans and especially those who are most needy and having a hard time struggling right now. So I think that’s where attention needs to be directed towards immediately — and this is been going on for five and a half months.”
A number of Democrats criticized Manchin, from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders —who argued that Manchin should be forced to vote “no” in front of everyone — to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who accused the West Virginia Senator of acting in bad faith and refusing to negotiate.
Manchin fired back, saying that he would not be “bullied” into submission — and that strategy appears to have paid off in his home state.