Jessica Dobrinsky

Friday

Jessica Dobrinsky

Democrat? Independent? Manchin may be finished either way

When asked whether he will leave the Democratic Party and become an independent at a press conference on Monday, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin said, "I'm not a Washington Democrat, I don't know what to tell you… I have no intention of doing anything right now. Whether I do something later, I can't tell you what the future's going to bring." Simultaneously, Manchin threw a punch at former Senate challenger and current congressman Alex Mooney, stating, "[Governor Jim] Justice is a much better candidate, and he would be doing it for the right reasons. I think Mooney is doing it strictly for his political ambition." While Manchin hasn't yet confirmed a re-election bid, his comments leave the door open for his departure from the Democratic Party.

joe manchin

Wednesday

Jessica Dobrinsky

Trump is still king in West Virginia

Bipartisanship is a word used too frequently, and seldom ever found in the swamps of Washington, DC. On Tuesday, Congressman David B. McKinley, Republican from West Virginia's former First District, named “one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” battled Congressman Alex Mooney, representative of the former Second District. The two were competing to represent West Virginia’s newest congressional district, which stretches from Jefferson to Mason counties. The latest congressional map came as a result of 2020 census data that revealed a loss of population in the Mountain State. It was Alex Mooney who scored the win and secured the Republican nomination. Though that wasn't shocking for political aficionados who recently watched Hillbilly Elegy author J.D.

Monday

Jessica Dobrinsky

America should be more like West Virginia

Poor. Illiterate. Strung out. Those were the three words that Bette Midler used to describe West Virginia after the Mountain State's Joe Manchin announced he would vote against Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill. "He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state," Midler said. It's a tale as old as time. So, Bette, I'm giving you the old "West Virginia Salute," raising my middle finger...and my thumb, a local gesture that depicts the state's curious shape. I want to tell you about my home and why the rest of the nation should be just like it. I come from the furthest point on the West Virginia thumb, Charles Town.