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Michael Bastasch | Energy Editor
- Democrat Joe Manchin debated Thursday night his opponent GOP Patrick Morrisey.
- Morrisey attacked Manchin for his support of Hillary Clinton, despite his anti-coal remarks.
- Manchin targeted Morrisey's lobbying career and its links with pharmaceutical companies.
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin clashed with Republican opponent Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Thursday night as they wondered why they should get support from voters.
Much of the debate, however, revolved around two people who were not present: President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (RELATED: Joe Manchin's campaign says his official social media accounts have been hacked)
Morrisey focused on Manchin's support for Clinton in the 2016 elections, as his policy would end the activities of "coal miners and coal companies". He also praised his support for Trump's pro-coal program.
"We have suffered for eight years under the administration of Barack Obama," Morrisey said, adding that he had filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration to rescind regulations that would have forced new coal plants to close. .
Manchin is "accustomed to Washington's habits," Morrisey said during the debate. "I fought very hard for our coal miners. Senator Manchin abandoned them "by supporting Hillary Clinton, he said.
"I want to make sure that West Virginia gets the Conservative leadership it deserves," Morrisey said. "Senator Manchin, you can not trust anything he says."
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks to the media as he arrives for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the intelligence community's assessment of "Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections" At Capitol Hill in Washington (United States), May 16, 2018. REUTERS / Joshua Roberts.
"Hillary Clinton is not on the ballot," Manchin told Morrisey after repeated references to the former Democratic presidential candidate.
Trump will hold a rally Friday in West Virginia to support the Morrisey campaign. Donald Trump, Jr., son of the president, took to Twitter during the debate, attack Manchin as having "more in common with Hillary Clinton than the inhabitants of" West Virginia.
Morrissey also criticized Manchin for failing to support a voting initiative by a declaring State[n]o Constitutional right to abortion. "Manchin admitted during the debate that he was not supporting the ballot measurement.
However, Manchin hit Morrisey for his ties to the pharmaceutical industry and his lobbying business in California.
Much of the debate has focused on health policy, from prescription drug prices to the opioid crisis that has hit thousands of citizens in western Virginia. Morrisey has lobbied for pharmaceutical companies in the past, but his wife is still lobbying for the industry.
"There is only one person who makes money with pills," said Manchin, referring to Morrisey. "He became rich and West Virginia got sick."
Manchin also did not hesitate to point out Morrisey's roots in New Jersey while pointing out that he was born and raised in that state.
"I do not think Patrick is lying. I do not think he's dishonest. I think he is confused and does not understand West Virginia because he has not been here for so long, "Manchin said.
Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General of West Virginia, US Senate Candidate, speaking in front of US President Donald Trump (left) at the Make America Great Again Rally at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia on the 21st August 2018. REUTERS / Leah Millis.
"He votes as a senator from New Jersey and Washington," Morrisey said of Manchin during the debate.
At one point in the debate, moderator Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews, West Virginia, urged Manchin to support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, US Supreme Court Justice, at his eleventh hour. .
Manchin announced his support for Kavanaugh a few minutes after Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins publicly announced that she would vote to confirm the former district court judge. Kercheval asked Manchin why he was Kavanaugh's "last vote".
"I was not the last vote," said Manchin, adding that he did not support Kavanaugh for weeks, but that he could exercise due diligence so that the FBI could investigate on allegations of sexual violence against the judge.
"I have supported the candidacies of President Trump," said Manchin. Manchin voted to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Supreme Court in 2017.
"This is another example of how Senator Manchin says one thing in West Virginia and another in Washington," said Morrisey, linking the issue back to Clinton.
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