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West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin says won't back left's 'crazy stuff' if his party takes Senate

Manchin calls himself a "proud moderate conservative Democrat."

Published: November 10, 2020 9:27am

Updated: November 10, 2020 12:39pm

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he won't support some of the "crazy stuff" proposed by the party's left wing if Democrats take control of the Senate. 

Manchin was specifically referring to calls by some members of his party to abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court with liberal-leaning justices, to dilute the court's now 6-3 conservative majority.

Manchin said Monday on Fox News that he is a proud Democrat and that not every elected member of the party supports the agenda of its progressive wing.

Since his election to the Senate in 2010 in Republican-leaning West Virginia, Manchin has largely voted as a moderate-to-conservative Democrat.  

Control of the Senate remains undecided after the Nov. 3 elections, as Republicans and Democrats battle in key states for the final few seats. 

Republican incumbent Sens. Dan Sullivan and Thom Tillis, in Alaska and North Carolina, respectively, have not yet had their races called but are leading in current vote tallies. 

Republicans in Georgia, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed to serve the duration of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson's term, and one-term Sen. David Perdue are fighting, respectively, to fend off Democrats Pastor Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The latter previously ran in and lost the nationalized, 2017 House special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District. 

If two of the aforementioned Republicans lose, then Democrats will obtain 50-50 control of the Senate, with a Vice President Kamala Harris potentially acting as the tie-breaking vote.

"I commit to tonight and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that's watching, I want to allay those fears, I want to rest those fears for you right now, because when they talk about, whether it be packing the courts or ending the filibuster, I will not vote to do that," Manchin also said Monday.

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