Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia didn’t flinch when asked whether he would cross party lines to back his Republican colleague and friend in Alaska’s Senate race.
Manchin revealed in a joint interview with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski that he would endorse her for reelection in 2022 “in a heartbeat.” Murkowski, one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial earlier this year, faces primary competition and the ire of Trump in her bid for a fourth term in the upper chamber.
“I think the people understand that they have a person that understands Alaska and has Alaska in her blood and in every part of her veins and every morsel of her body,” Manchin said on Politico’s “Deep Dive” podcast.
“I would welcome his endorsement,” Murkowski responded with a laugh.
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Manchin’s support for Murkowski follows his endorsement of Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins, another notable centrist, during the 2020 election cycle.
Manchin and Murkowski, who serve together on the Senate energy committee, have a public friendship unique in Washington. Throughout the interview, the two talked about how their friendship has made them more successful at performing the committee’s work.
“We have built a great friendship,” Manchin said. “We trust each other.”
“When you know one another as people, it’s a lot more difficult to be critical, to say nasty things at them,” Murkowski added.
The two agreed that more bipartisanship in Congress is necessary, with Manchin insisting that the evenly divided Senate provides the body a unique opportunity to facilitate more deal-making.
“If we don’t take advantage of this Congress that we’re in with a 50-50 split and try to get something back to order, that did work at one time … if we miss this opportunity, God help us,” he said.
Manchin’s commitment to supporting a Republican senator is his most recent divergence from the party mainstream, something for which both he and Murkowski are well known. Manchin is one of only a few Democrats who oppose abolishing the Senate’s legislative filibuster, and he stood out during negotiations over the American Rescue Plan, pushing back against his fellow Democrats by insisting on less generous federal unemployment benefits.
For her part, Murkowski often stands out for positions she takes that are contrary to the party norm. In addition to her vote to convict Trump, she was the sole Republican to support the confirmation of Vanita Gupta, President Joe Biden’s choice for associate attorney general, on Wednesday.
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Murkowski’s pro-Trump Republican challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, responded to the news of Manchin’s “in a heartbeat” comment with criticism, saying in a press release, “The D.C. Swamp protects its own and Joe Manchin knows that Lisa Murkowski is more like him than the Alaskans she’s forgotten about.”
