The most important legislation the Senate can pass is voting rights. Republicans in the states have passed new laws that will severely limit the number of seats Democrats can take in future elections—including Electoral Votes in 2024—making it difficult if not impossible to get fair elections.
Even as it stands, Republicans represent tens of millions fewer people in the Senate than Democrats, even though they have the same number of Senators. With the new laws in a couple dozen states, Republicans may regain a majority of the House with a minority of the popular vote.
There is one person who could change this right now, and that is Sen. Joe Manchin. He could do that by changing his position on the filibuster enough for a voting rights bill to pass the Senate. That bill would restore much of the balance between the parties.
Time is up for Sen. Manchin to announce his commitment to filibuster reform. Until he does, I plan to mount a campaign to push him out of the Democratic Party.
This isn’t just a matter of changing Manchin’s mind. He is empowered by the party leadership and the backing of others in our party. So, this isn’t like a leafleting campaign aimed at Manchin alone. I intend to step up the effort across the party. I want others in the party to make a choice: Do they back Manchin’s intransigence on the filibuster—and therefore are they on the side of ending democracy—or are they willing to stand up and publicly oppose him.
I want them to unfriend him.
This is a multi-stage process, where the pressure will increase each week. This week may seem like a small step, but we should think of it in terms of the overall plan. Each week I will be asking for an increased commitment from people to make a decision whether or not they support Manchin in tanking democracy.
This week, I’m asking the Democrats in the West Virginia Senate to take a stand. These are eleven men who hold positions of power in West Virginia. It’s time for them to choose.
One of the problems we face with Joe Manchin is that he isn’t up for re-election next year. We can’t primary him, so the widespread belief is that he is immune to pressure from the voters.
But the members of the West Virginia Senate are not so lucky. Eight of them are up for election next year. That means their primaries are set to start, well, today.
If you live in one of the senate districts in West Virginia, please ask your state senator whether they support Joe Manchin. Are they already on record calling for him to shepherd voting rights through the Senate? And, longer term, have they considered running for Senate? Joe Manchin won’t be in office forever. Who is going to replace him when his time comes?
Here are the eleven Democrats who hold office in the West Virginia Senate. Let’s find out if any of them are ready to unfriend Joe Manchin.
William J. Ihlenfeld II
Represents 1st District (north spur between PA and OH, includes Wheeling)
Beat the incumbent Republican 53-47% in 2018.
Up for election in 2022.
Robert H. Plymale
Represents 5th District (west end of WV at south bend of Ohio river, includes Huntington)
Trounces Republicans 60% or more, been unopposed.
Up for election in 2024.
Mike Woelfel
Represents 5th District (west end of WV at south bend of Ohio river, includes Huntington)
Beat Republican 60-40% in 2018 and another Republican 50-47% (with independent taking 3%) in 2014.
Up for election in 2022.
Ron Stollings
Represents 7th District (western WV, noted for the Bituminous Coal Heritage Foundation Museum)
Beat Republicans by 57% and 66% in most recent elections.
Up for election in 2022.
Glenn Jeffries
Represents 8th District (northern Charleston, Red House)
Beat Republican 53-47% in 2016.
Up for election in 2024.
Richard Lindsay
Represents 8th District (northern Charleston, Red House)
Beat Republican in 2018 50.25-49.75%.
Up for election in 2022.
Stephen Baldwin Jr.
Represents 10th District (southeastern WV, bordering Roanoke area of Virginia)
Beat Republican in 2018 53-47%.
Up for election in 2022.
Mike Romano
Represents 12th District (central core of WV, including Clarksburg)
Beat Republican in 2018 55-46% and another Republican 50-42% in 2014 (with Libertarian getting 8%). In the 2014 primary, he beat the incumbent Democrat 56-44%.
Up for election in 2022.
Bob Beach
Represents 13th District (northern WV bordering PA, centered on Morgantown)
Beat Republican 52-48% in 2018 and another Republican 51-45% (with American Freedom Party candidate taking 3%) in 2014. He won in 2010 over Republican 50.3-49.7%, after winning the primary 72-28%. In 2020, he attempted to defeat the incumbent Republican for Commissioner of Agriculture in a lopsided race.
Up for election in 2022.
Mike Caputo
Represents 13th District (northern WV bordering PA, centered on Morgantown)
Beat Republican 56-44% in 2018.
He is a career coal miner and a member of the United Mine Workers of America.
Up for election in 2024.
John Ronald Unger II
Represents 13th District (far eastern part of panhandle, including Martinsburg)
Beat Republican 52-48% in 2018 and another Republicans 52-48% in 2014. He also won against a Republican 50.43-49.57% in 2010.
Up for election in 2022.
I provided key statistics from Wikipedia about how these senators did against their Republican opposition. I also provided information about where their district is located geographically, because this helps us understand how strong the Republican opposition probably is in these areas. However, all the states bordering West Virginia, except Pennsylvania and Virginia, are strongly Republican in recent history. The portions of Pennsylvania and Virginia bordering West Virginia are strongly Republican, as well, even though those states as a whole are more equally balanced.
Even so, West Virginia could very well be a good place for progressives to take seats. Progressive values are very supportive of working people. We want to lift coal workers up out of the ground and get them well-paying jobs in renewable energy and local production. We support helping workers who Republicans have ignored and taken from granted for years. We actually care about working people and have supported them for decades.
Workers in West Virginia would be very well served by progressive policy, such as our climate change policy, our healthcare policy, and our minimum income policy.
Over the next week, let’s take stock of how voting rights plays out in Congress. If a substantial bill passes, we can celebrate the win.
If it doesn’t, I’ll have some more names next week to add to the list.
