West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin he’s not yet sure which candidate he’ll vote for in November and he does not plan to make an endorsement either, TPM reported Friday. On Sunday, top Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod was pretty understanding.
“I am just waiting for it to play out. I am not jumping in one way or another,” Manchin said. “I’m worried about me. I’ve said it’s not a team sport. You need to go out and work for yourself.”
On whom he’ll vote for, Manchin said that depends on how West Virginians are feeling about the election. “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,” he said.
“I think he was very candid there,” David Axelrod said Sunday on CNN in response to the news that Manchin won’t endorse. Axelrod pointed out that Manchin is looking out for his own well-being since he’s up for reelection in a state Obama lost in 2008. “He’s making a political judgement about himself,” he said, adding, “I would hope that the country’s interest will enter into it as well, and that ultimately he’ll be supporting the president.”
