Joe Manchin’s challenger Alex Mooney slams Democrat as a ‘partisan’ who ‘betrayed’ West Virginia

Mooney said that despite a widespread belief that Manchin is a centrist, he does not think the senator is close to the center of the ideological spectrum at all, pointing to his voting record.

“He voted against Amy Coney Barrett, but for Ketanji Brown Jackson,” he said in an interview with Fox & Friends. “Inflation is killing us here in West Virginia. A lot of folks live on fixed income. Joe Manchin voted for all these spending bills that Joe Biden wanted him to vote for. And spending is out of control. Inflation is out of control.”

MANCHIN HAS FIRST 2024 CHALLENGER AS REP. ALEX MOONEY ENTERS RACE

Mooney added that Manchin has lost touch with the state’s voters.

“I don’t think he represents West Virginia,” Mooney said.

The West Virginia representative also called out Manchin for voting to convict former President Donald Trump during both impeachment trials, saying the hearings were “a sham.”

“It was an outrage for this country,” Mooney said. “Frankly, whether you support Donald Trump or not, the impeachment process was a complete farce, and it was an outrage for Joe Manchin to vote to impeach Donald Trump.”

He added that Manchin’s vote to impeach Trump was a “betrayal” to the state, which is increasingly moving toward Republicans.

Despite his bid for senator in 2024, Mooney said he does not think Manchin will run for reelection after he had a tough reelection win in 2018. He beat West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey by a narrow margin of 3 percentage points.

“I think he betrayed West Virginia voters, and we are almost 70% voted for Donald Trump,” he said. “I don’t see them voting for Joe Manchin. I think he’s going to lose.”

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Both Mooney and West Virginia Rep. Carol Miller won reelection in the midterm elections handily, with both receiving over 60% of the vote compared to their Democratic opponents receiving roughly 30%.