Senator Joe Manchin West Virginia

A tale of two Joes

Can Joe Biden count on coal-state Senator Joe Manchin on climate action?

I've been thinking about how the precarious state of American politics will guide climate policy.


It looks like the key to it all is understanding West Virginia politics. And I'm not sure anyone, anywhere, understands West Virginia politics. Or maybe it's just me, because West Virginia politics surely beats the heck out of me.

Because somehow, pro-coal moderate Democrat Joe Manchin just became President Joe Biden's Senate point man on climate change.

Taking his shot

A reliably Democratic state for decades, Bill Clinton carried West Virginia by 13 points in 1992. But like so many largely rural states out west, the Mountaineer State's socially-conservative base began to erode that advantage. And its blue politics turned red in a few decades, notably helping George W. Bush win the contested 2000 Presidential election.

Elected Governor in 2005, Manchin set his targets on a U.S. Senate seat in 2010. And by "set his targets," I mean a campaign ad had Manchin literally take a .303 and shoot a hole in a "Cap and Trade" bill, all at once boosting coal, praising guns, and threatening the Environmental Protection Agency. Nice shot, Joe.

The lone Dem

Proceed to the Senate, a partial term to replace Robert Byrd, a political titan and ex-Klansman who had served 51 years in the Senate.

Manchin comfortably won re-election in 2012 and 2018, even while West Virginians rejected the top of the Democratic ticket in 2016. Hilary Clinton not only got crushed in West Virginia, she helped crush herself. "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business," she told a March 2016 town hall, shortly before her first crushing at the non-mittened hands of Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary.

Also on Election Day 2016, West Virginians defied their own trend by choosing another Democrat for Governor. At six feet seven, 368 pounds, and with the too-Hollywood name of Jim Justice, he was the state's wealthiest resident -- and a Democratic coal baron. Seven months after his inauguration, Justice announced a switch to the GOP. Once again, Manchin was the only Democrat standing in a once all-blue state leadership.

Wild card 

Should Manchin follow Justice and decamp for the Republicans, the brittle Democratic hold on the Senate would be lost, and Joe Biden's vision for sweeping change would be lost. Manchin has never voiced such a threat, but such a move could be as politically consequential as the ones that gave Biden a 50-50 Senate "majority."

That's how the Senate Democrat with the most atypical track record on climate and coal came to hold so many of the party's cards. Unlike Jim Justice, Manchin accepts the overwhelming scientific view that climate change is real, human-induced, and a deadly threat. But he supported President Trump's 2017 withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, and he's been an avid backer of plans to turn the Ohio River Valley into a plastics-manufacturing hub, accessing the region's fossil fuel wealth. Manchin also backs making West Virginia a focus of carbon capture. Efforts to date to draw carbon out of fossil fuel combustion have been a multi-billion-dollar failure.

Biden's climate team, studded with international czar John Kerry; domestic boss and former EPA Chief Gina McCarthy, and Energy Secretary designate and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, all come from a different place— philosophically and geographically—than Joe Manchin. It will be one of the first of many dramas for Team Biden's environment dreams.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Senator Joe Manchin in 2017. (Credit: Third Way Think Tank/flickr)

Books on an outdoor bookshelf shaped like a house, with trees in background.
Credit: Gigi/Unsplash

Our annual summer reading list, 2025 edition

Happy 4th of July! Here's what our staff is reading this summer.

Welcome to summer, everyone! Each 4th of July, our staff share a memorable book that they’ve recently read, and this year, like every year, has produced an eclectic, thought-provoking mix. We hope our picks inspire some new additions to your own lists.

Keep reading...Show less
Silhouette of a person on a hill in front of a setting sun.

Major climate change reports vanish from US federal websites, raising transparency concerns

Federal climate reports that help communities plan for extreme weather and rising seas have quietly disappeared from public websites, with little explanation from the Trump administration.

Seth Borenstein reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
a scale with the words Truth/Facts and fake news on it

UN official calls for criminal penalties for fossil fuel disinformation and lobbying bans

The United Nations’ top climate and human rights expert urged governments to criminalize fossil fuel disinformation, ban industry lobbying and ads, and phase out oil, gas, and coal by 2030 to meet their legal obligations under international law.

Nina Lakhani reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
A ship near an iceberg.

EPA staffer’s offhand remark on climate funds fuels political firestorm after secret video sting

A midlevel U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee was secretly recorded on a Tinder date by a Project Veritas operative, triggering political attacks and agency rollbacks based on a misrepresented comment about clean energy funding.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
silver and black electric oscillating fan in close up photography.
Credit: Roy Muz/Unsplash

Coal use drives sharp rise in U.S. power plant emissions amid summer heat

U.S. power plant emissions have surged to a three-year high, driven by a spike in coal use as utilities scramble to meet rising electricity demand during record summer heat and elevated natural gas prices.

Gavin Maguire reports for Reuters.

Keep reading...Show less
building with vegetation wall.

Cities are quietly outpacing nations in climate progress

Cities worldwide are cutting emissions, greening streets, and adapting to climate threats faster than national governments, according to a new international report.

Matt Simon reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
a herd of cows standing next to each other in a barn, confined in individual metal stalls.

California residents challenge methane policy they say pollutes under the guise of clean energy

Residents in California’s Central Valley are pushing back against a state-backed program that incentivizes methane digesters at industrial dairies, arguing it locks in pollution and worsens environmental health in Latino communities.

Ray Levy Uyeda reports for Prism.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.