Senator Joe Manchin III said he decided to forgo re-election because he’d accomplished all his goals. But for the Democrats he’s leaving behind in Washington, the work to hold the party’s already slim Senate majority is just beginning. The state has become so conservative that only Wyoming delivered a wider Republican margin in the 2020 presidential race. “This is a huge impact,” Ward Baker, a former executive director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the group that oversees Senate races. “Manchin not running will save Republicans a ton of money — and it takes a seat off the board early.”

---

Persons: Joe Manchin III, he’d, Jim Justice, ” Ward Baker, “ Manchin, ” Organizations: Democrats he’s, Democratic, West Virginian, Republican, National Republican Senatorial Committee Locations: Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming