Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., signed a pledge on the Senate floor Tuesday not to campaign against any colleagues currently serving in Congress, and he hopes other lawmakers will pledge to do the same.
Manchin said in a Tuesday tweet that he made this promise to himself several years ago, but is now making it official because ”Washington sucks but it doesn’t have to.”
In the pledge, Manchin also hopes fellow congressmen will sign on to not donate to candidates running against those currently serving out their term.
“The time has come for all senators to make this pledge & commit ourselves to being Americans first,” Manchin tweeted.
Several years ago I took a personal pledge to not campaign against a sitting colleague & today I signed the pledge on the @SenateFloor. #WashingtonSucks but it doesn’t have to. The time has come for all Senators to make this pledge & commit ourselves to being Americans first. pic.twitter.com/VXMY708ZtO
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) February 6, 2018
Manchin’s pledge comes among an already heated 2018 election season where multiple first-time potential candidates have launched smear campaigns against incumbents.
Despite Manchin’s moral pledge, back in 2014 the West Virginia Senator donated $1,000 to Alison Lundergan Grimes, opponent to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Manchin also released a statement where he took aim at McConnell for his lack of commitment to the coal industry and coal miners.
“Alison has the courage to stand up to those in her party who try to deny that coal will be a vital part of our energy for decades to come, and I know that Alison will fight against the War on Coal right beside me in Washington,” Manchin said in a statement in 2014.
