Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is up for re-election in a state that is likely to vote Republican in the presidential race, is now declaring himself undecided on whether he will vote for President Obama or Mitt Romney in the election.
National Journal reports:
“The people in West Virginia, they basically look at the candidates—whatever you’re running for, whether it be the president itself, or whatever—[they look at] the performance and the result that’s been attained,” Manchin said when asked how he will vote. “Right now in West Virginia, these first three and a half years haven’t been that good to West Virginia. So, then you look [at] what the options will be, who will be on the other end.”
Calling it all but “inevitable that Governor Romney will be that person” on the Republican side, Manchin said it remains to be seen whether his constituents “feel connected” to Romney. Romney’s support for the budget plan offered by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., raises the question of whether that proposal “basically attacks entitlement in an unfair way,” Manchin said. The state has a high percentage of residents relying on federal benefits.
