Joe Manchin: podcast appearances and interviews

Joseph Anthony Manchin III is an American politician and businessman from West Virginia. He served as the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005, as the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010, and as a United States senator from 2010 to 2025. Manchin was initially a member of the Democratic Party throughout his political career until he became an independent in 2024. Before his political career, he co-founded and served as president of Enersystems, his family-owned coal brokerage company. He was elected governor of West Virginia in 2004 by a large margin and was reelected in 2008 by an even larger margin. Manchin was first elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2010 special election following the death of Senator Robert Byrd; he then won full terms in 2012 and 2018. Throughout his tenure, Manchin was regarded as the Senate Democratic Caucus's most conservative member and a centrist, bipartisan figure. His position was particularly influential after the 2020 elections when the Senate was evenly split at 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans; Democrats maintained control through the vice president’s tie-breaking vote. In 2023, Manchin announced he would not seek re-election in 2024. The following year, he left the Democratic Party to become an independent. His successor in the Senate was Jim Justice, a Republican.