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Less Than 2% of Joe Manchin's Campaign Donations Came From West Virginia

Only 5 West Virginians contributed to Manchin, according to campaign filing

Sen. Joe Manchin / Getty Images
April 20, 2017

 

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D.) has collected over $550,000 for his reelection campaign this year but only $7,900 of it came from donors inside the state, his latest campaign filing shows.

Manchin, whose Senate seat is up for grabs in 2018, reported just five donors with West Virginia addresses on his April quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission, which covers the period from January 1 through March 31.

The largest contributions came from what appears to be a single family in Glenville, West Virginia. Three executives for Waco Oil and Gas—I.L. Morris, Douglas Morris, and Ian Morris—combined to give $6,400 to Manchin on March 31.

Manchin received an additional $1,000 from an executive in Charleston, and $500 from a retired woman in Huntington.

Manchin raked in far more from donors out of his state, such as $95,600 from Texas and $32,300 from New York.

Also contributing a large bulk of Manchin's early 2017 haul is a group of registered government lobbyists such as Podesta Group chairman Tony Podesta, who gave $1,000 to Manchin on March 21. In total, lobbyists appear to have contributed over $60,000 to Manchin's campaign so far in 2017.

In addition to the Podesta Group, Manchin received thousands from lobbying powerhouses such as Akin Gump, DLA Piper, and Squire Patton Boggs.

Manchin's office did not return a request for comment from the Washington Free Beacon on his campaign's filing.

A spokesman for Manchin told the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which first reported on the lack of West Virginia donations to the senator, that Manchin is too busy helping constituents when he is in the state to raise money.

"When the senator is in the state, he is generally spending a lot of his time trying to help constituents do the things they’re asking him to do on their behalf, which is to help create new jobs and find new opportunities for jobs," said Manchin spokesman Jefrey Pollock. "Nationally, people are giving him money all over the country because they know how important the senator is, they recognize the national effort he's been a part of, and see him as a real leader who they want to see get elected to the United States Senate."