West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney announces he’ll run against Sen. Joe Manchin in 2024

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - As the dust begins to settle on the 2022 election, newly re-elected Congressman Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) has his eyes set on 2024. On Tuesday morning, he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, directly challenging long-time Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“The Senate is going to stay in Democrats hands. As a good, loyal, conservative Republican, I was disappointed in that. And, I think that in particular West Virginia in two years, we have our Senate seat open that’s held by a Democrat who’s been voting, enabling Joe Biden and the left wing agenda, frankly. I think we can turn that Republican for the sake of this country,” said Mooney.

Mooney’s announcement comes days after he won 66% of the vote in his campaign for the 2nd district seat, defeating Democrat Barry Wendell. In the primary, Mooney also defeated fellow Republican Rep. David McKinley (R. W.Va.) after redistricting in the state forced the two incumbents to run against each other.

“I just wanted to announce early, let folks know I’m all in. I’m running. I don’t know who else is going to run, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” said Mooney. “You may recall that Senator Joe Manchin went out of his way to attack me in a TV ad in my primary earlier this year. And I think he did that because he was trying to prevent me from winning and running against him. So, now I think we’ll just let the voters of West Virginia decide. And, I look forward to standing on my conservative record.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Manchin, Sam Runyon, said in a statement, “a robust democratic process has never been more important to our country and Senator Manchin encourages every candidate who values public service to enter the race.”

Mooney has perviously supported former president Donald Trump. Mooney is anti-abortion. He also describes himself as the candidate who is fighting for personal freedoms, including the Second Amendment.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has served in the U.S. Senate since November 15, 2010, when he filled a seat left vacant by late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Manchin was key in the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowered the cost of prescription drugs.

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Manchin released a statement that said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ in the Supreme Court’s decision. In that same statement he said, “as a Catholic, I was raised pro-life and will always consider myself pro-life. But I have come to accept that my definition of pro-life may not be someone else’s definition of pro-life. I believe that exceptions should be made in instances of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. But let me be clear, I support legislation that would codify the rights Roe v. Wade previously protected. I am hopeful Democrats and Republicans will come together to put forward a piece of legislation that would do just that.”

However, Manchin voted with every single Republican in the Senate (51-49) to strike down the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified Roe v. Wade into federal law in May. Manchin also stood against pieces of the President’s agenda including extending the child tax credit and Build Back Better program.

Republicans did not pick up as many seats as the party had expected in the 2022 election for the U.S. House and they did not flip control of the Senate. The results urged Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) to state to media outlets “the Republican Party, as we have known it, is dead.” The Washington News Bureau asked Rep. Mooney about the political climate he believes he will face in 2024.

He said in part, “we need to certainly strengthen our party. I’m the proud son of a of an Irish man who served in Vietnam, and my mother fled communist Cuba when she was 20 years old. She fled to this country to live in freedom and those freedoms are under attack. I speak Spanish and I do think Hispanic voters around America are embracing the Republican Party more and they certainly need to. Hispanics are conservative, as are other ethnic groups. So, I think the Republican Party needs to make sure we’re speaking to all Americans, of all races and ethnicities, because our conservative message is what’s going to save this country from socialism.”

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