The West Virginia Senate primary is May 14.

When Zach Shrewsbury started campaigning, he was running against reactionary Democrat Joe Manchin, who has since announced he isn’t running for reelection.  At that point, another special interest, corporate-backed right-of-center Democrat, Glenn Elliott, jumped into the race against Shrewsbury. On Monday, as expected, Manchin endorsed Elliott.

And if you want to see another senator just like Joe Manchin, Elliott’s the man.

For anyone who hasn’t been following Manchin’s shameless career in the Senate, let me remind you of a few highlights:

Manchin spent the Trump years always on the verge of switching parties. He supported the Trump position just over 50% of the time, more than any other Democrat in the Senate. He was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Jeff Sessions Attorney General and one of only two Democrats to vote to confirm corrupt Climate Change denier Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA. 

An admitted anti-Choice Democrat, who joined the GOP to defund Planned Parenthood, he also voted to confirm wing right extremists Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, in Kavanaugh’s case, the only Democrat to do so. 

• He was also the only Democrat to vote against codifying Roe v Wade, which he did both times it was proposed.
• Manchin opposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15/hour.
• Manchin was a co-founder and serves as a co-chair of No Labels
• Manchin opposed statehood for DC and Puerto Rico
• Manchin was the only Senate Democrat to oppose marriage equality
• Manchin voted for Wall Street’s position on throwing out parts of Dodd-Frank that protected consumers from predatory banksters

Many consider Manchin the most corrupt member of the Senate, consistently voting for policies that enrich himself while taking millions of dollars from fossil fuel lobbyists in return for his consistently destructive votes on energy policies. The chairman of West Virginia’s Sierra Club said Manchin has “been nothing but a mouthpiece for the coal industry his whole public life.”

Manchin has been using his position to hold climate legislation hostage on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, for example threatening to tank Biden’s Build Back Better climate agenda. He regularly takes more in bribes from the fossil fuel industry than any other member of Congress. 

Elliott is an establishment corporate lawyer, very much the opposite of progressive community activist Zach Shrewsbury, a working class candidate endorsed by Blue America.

Zach is not a Republican-lite candidate. Unlike Elliott, he will offer West Virginia voters a clear alternative to Republican Jim Justice in November.

We spoke with Zack this morning... and he didn't seem concerned about the Manchin endorsement.

“Senator Manchin, though retiring, is still trying to pull strings across West Virginia,” he told us. “Endorsing my primary opponent has now given West Virginia the compare and contrast they need to vote in this election. I stepped into this race to primary Senator Manchin and it seems to be back on the table now. If you want a true fighter for working people that believes universal healthcare is the way forward to care for our families you choose me. I’m the candidate that didn’t kiss the ring of the establishment.” 

Please consider contributing to Zack's grassroots campaign here.