Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said the only reason former West Virginia Governor Democrat Joe Manchin won the state’s Senate seat tonight was because he effectively distanced himself from President Barack Obama.
“Look how he won though: he had to essentially oppose his party’s leadership and his party’s leader, Barack Obama,” Palin said on Fox News. “He had to campaign against the policies, especially cap and tax, that Obama was pushing forward. There’s still a message being sent that even though the train’s leaving the station and the president and his advisers and his colleagues and supporters can jump on board, that train is heading in a different direction, and the direction is going to be a more conservative one.”
The seat, formerly belonging to late Sen. Robert Byrd and a contested seat as of Election Day, was widely viewed as key for the GOP to take the majority in the Senate.
Palin also commented on Tea Party victories, including Marco Rubio in Florida and Rand Paul in Kentucky, and Christine O’Donnell’s loss in Delaware.
“Christine’s defeat in a deep blue state is not really a surprise,” Palin said. “It’s disappointing, though, for those who wanted to shake it up in that state. Rand Paul is basically a representative of the Tea Party movement.”