Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin has a new ad in the West Virginia Senate race, continuing his theme of distancing himself from national Democrats in this anti-Obama state. For this spot, Manchin attacks both the national Democrats and the Republicans, positioning himself against each of them.
“I’m as mad as you are with what’s going on in Washington. Both Democrats and Republicans are dead wrong. They put their party first, their personal agenda second, and our country last. And they want you to believe I’m going to be a rubber stamp for that? Not a chance. That’s not how we’ve made things better in West Virginia.
“Give me the chance to shake up Washington, just like I did here as governor. I’m Joe Manchin. I approve this message, because I’ve always put West Virginia first, and I always will.”
The “rubber stamp” line is a reference to a frequent slogan of Republican nominee John Raese, who says that Manchin would be a rubber stamp to Obama. The funny thing is that when Manchin says “they” in this ad, it’s not immediately clear who he’s talking about — he could be referring to both Raese and the national Democrats who want Manchin to win this seat. Indeed, it would be impossible to tell from this ad which party Manchin belongs to, and a person could even get the idea that he’s an independent.
The TPM Poll Average gives Manchin a lead of 47.3%-46.4%.