Sen. Joe Manchin’s Approval Rating Surges to 57% in West Virginia: Biggest Increase Among Senators
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s Approval Rating Surges to 57% in New Poll
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has seen a significant boost in his approval rating over the past year, according to a new poll released by Morning Consult on Monday. The centrist Democrat’s approval rating has surged from 40% to 57%, making it the largest increase of any senator in the country.
The impressive jump in approval largely stems from Republican voters in West Virginia. At the beginning of President Joe Biden’s term, only 35% of GOP voters in the red state approved of Manchin. Now, that figure has nearly doubled, with 69% of Republicans supporting his job performance.
Manchin’s standing among independent voters has also significantly improved, with his approval rating rising from 31% to 50%. However, the senator has seen a decline in support from Democrats in West Virginia, with only 44% approving of his job performance—a 19-percentage point drop.
Despite facing backlash from the progressive wing of his party over his policy positions, including opposition to voting rights legislation and the Build Back Better package, Manchin’s popularity has placed him within the top 10 most popular American senators, according to Morning Consult.
Some Senate Republicans have signaled that Manchin should switch parties, a move that would tip Senate control to the GOP. However, Manchin, a longtime Democrat who has served in the Senate since 2010, has repeatedly shut down rumors that he will change his political affiliation.
Despite his high-profile holdouts, Manchin has voted with President Biden 95% of the time, according to a FiveThirtyEight tracker. Morning Consult surveyed around 2,057 registered West Virginia voters in the first quarters of 2021 and 2022, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
The senator’s increased approval rating comes at a time when he continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the Biden administration’s agenda, despite his moderate stance on key issues. Manchin’s ability to garner support from both Republicans and independents in his home state highlights his unique position in the current political landscape.
Overall, Senator Joe Manchin’s surge in approval rating reflects the complex dynamics at play in West Virginia and the broader national political scene, as he navigates the challenges of bipartisanship and consensus-building in a deeply divided Congress.
