WEST VIRGINIA
Incumbent: Democrat Joe Manchin Inside Elections rating: Tossup 2016 presidential election results: Trump: 68%; Clinton: 26%
In a sign of Trump’s popularity in the state, West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Jim Justice announced he was switching to the Republican Party, so he could be more helpful to the president.
Manchin and Trump have had a good personal relationship and were speaking regularly, but they grew distant after Trump asked the moderate Democrat to support Republicanled efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, and Manchin said he could not.
According to the politics website Five-Thirty-Eight, Manchin has voted for legislation Trump supports about 54% of the time.
Rep. Evan Jenkins — a Democrat-turned-Republican who took West Virginia’s 3rd District from Democratic hands in 2014 — announced he’s challenging Manchin. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is also in the running.
Manchin, a former governor who won his last race by 24 percentage points, benefits from his name recognition in the state. A recent poll by West Virginia’s MetroNews has Manchin ahead of Jenkins by 10 points and Morrisey by 14 points.