John Raese

Via the Huffington Post, here's West Virginia governor and Democratic Senate candidate Joe Manchin explaining on Fox News Sunday why he would have voted against the health care bill:

Last week, Rasmussen showed Republican John Raese with a 3-point lead over Democratic Governor Joe Manchin in the West Virginia Senate race (49% to 46%). Now, Rasmussen shows a 7-point lead for Raese:

Governor Joe Manchin, who trails Republican John Raese by 3 points in Rasmussen's latest poll on the West Virginia Senate race (the Real Clear Politics average has Manchin slightly ahead on the basis of two Democratic polls), is now running a pro-Obamacare ad:

West Virginia's Democratic governor and Senate candidate Joe Manchin has tried to play up the class warfare angle against his Republican opponent John Raese. In one TV ad, the Manchin campaign cropped a picture of of Raese and his wife in front of their Florida mansion and darkened his wife's skin to give her an orange glow.

Well, it turns out Manchin has some expensive tastes of his own. Ben Smith notes that Manchin is "part-owner of a rather nice 54-foot yacht, called the Black Tie.... Manchin flew down to Mobile Alabama on a state plane to pick it up in 2005, and hastily reimbursed the state $5,400 for the flight after the local press called to ask about it."

Apparently Manchin likes to enjoy the good life on land as well as at sea. From the West Virginia Gazette:

West Virginia governor Joe Manchin, the Democratic Senate candidate who's locked in a tight race with Republican John Raese, is now running an ad in which he promises to "take dead aim" at cap-and-trade and then literally shoots a hole through the law (which is labeled, conveniently enough, "CAP AND TRADE BILL").

Morgantown, W. Va.

With Bill Clinton at his side and the Monongahela River in the background, West Virginia governor and Democratic Senate candidate Joe Manchin spent much of yesterday's rally distancing himself from President Obama and the national Democratic party.

Another crazed tea partier, right? Nope, it's West Virginia's Democratic governor and Senate candidate Joe Manchin, who touts his NRA endorsement in a new ad and vows: "I'll take on Washington and this administration to get the federal government off of our backs and out of our pockets." Manchin then literally shoots a copy of the cap-and-trade bill with his rifle. Watch it:

Imagine the reaction if a Republican cut this ad--remember the hysteria when Sarah Palin used crosshairs to identify vulnerable Dem districts on a map? Oh well.

Good news for Republicans:

1. Does Linda McMahon Stand a Chance in Connecticut?  Rasmussen and Quinnipiac both find the Republican nominee for Senate in Connecticut, Linda McMahon, well within striking distance of Democrat Richard Blumenthal.  Can she pull this off, or is this a dead cat bounce?

The NRSC is highlighting West Virginia governor Joe Manchin's recent claim to West Virginia Gazette reporter Alison Knezevich that he wouldn't have voted for Obamacare:

"I wouldn't have voted for the final version of that thing with the way that it came out."

The NRSC points out a YouTube clip of Manchin saying he was "totally behind health care reform." But that was from September 2009.

This morning, West Virginia’s Republican senatorial candidate John Raese spoke with bloggers in a conference call about his recent polling numbers and his campaign’s plans for the last few weeks before the November election.

Another interesting new Senate poll out today: PPP shows that Republican John Raese is leading Democratic governor Joe Manchin 46 percent to 43 percent.

Manchin is popular (59 percent approve of the job he's doing as governor), but Obama is not--his approval rating is 30 percent with 64 percent disapproving.