Elections

Manchin Receives More Campaign Money From Out Of State Donors Than From WV Donors

Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Gazette reported, received more money in the first quarter of 2017 from out of state individual contributors than from his own state

According to Federal Election Campaign filings reported by the Gazette, Manchin received money from individual donors in Texas ($95,600), Washington D.C. ($33,000), New York ($32,300), Massachusetts ($22,500), Virginia ($19,700), Maryland ($10,700) and Connecticut ($10,400).

The Gazette notes that only 3 percent of Manchin’s contributions came from West Virginia residents in contrast to 37 percent from Texas, 13 percent from Washington D.C. and 13 percent from New York.

Manchin’s Senate campaign shows that only five West Virginians have donated a total of $7,900 to his reelection for the first quarter of 2018. The Mountain State Democrat raised a sum of $257,250 in individual contributions between Jan. 1 and March 31. Sen. Manchin now has  $2.17 million in cash on hand.

Additionally, the FEC reports show that individual contributions to his campaign include $22,500 from ActBlue, a Massachusetts based  political action, $1,000 from a Texas law firm and $1,000 from The Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma.

An expected Republican challenger to Manchin for his Senate seat is Rep. Evan Jenkins, who has yet to announce his Senate candidacy. Jenkins fundraised for his House reelection  $138,056 in the first quarter. He now has his $1.04 million in cash on hand.

The majority of Jenkins’s individual donations, which total $89,407, come from West Virginia residents while the sum total of donations from another state went as high as $11,800 from Florida resident individual contributions.

Manchin’s seat is among other Democrat occupied states being targeted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee for 2018. President Donald Trump won Manchin’s state with 68 percent of the vote as opposed to Hillary Clinton’s 26 percent.

In an effort to keep Trump supporting voters happy in his state, Manchin has voted for Trump cabinet appointments and Supreme Court appointment Neil Gorsuch.

NRSC deputy communications director Bob Salera told WV Metro News back in February that Republicans will be examining Manchin’s voting record closely. “Try as he might to distance himself from the rhetoric of Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, they can always count on Joe when they need his vote,” Salera said.

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