Obama unpopular in WVa
A bit more for the Manchin file:
As popular as the incumbent governor is, it's not necessarily a good time to be running as a Democrat in the Mountain State. According to Gallup, the president's approval rating WVa ranks second-worst in the nation behind Wyoming.
More on this from the WashPost:
But Capito comes from a well-known West Virginia political family (her father was a three-term governor), and she's got a $500,000 head start on Manchin thanks to the funds already in her House campaign committee.
With President Obama highly unpopular in West Virginia, Republicans have already begun attaching the governor to the president and the national Democratic agenda on issues such as cap and trade -- a very unpopular proposition in coal-reliant West Virginia.
Manchin said in a subsequent interview with radio host Hoppy Kercheval -- the king of West Virginia politics -- that he has lined up the "unequivocal" support of both the Chamber of Commerce and major labor groups, which have both been his allies in the past.
Speaking to Kercheval, Manchin acknowledged that he "probably will" be at odds with national Democrats on many issues.