Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. Manchin was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. He became the state's senior U.S. senator when Jay Rockefeller left office in 2015 and has since been West Virginia's only congressional Democrat. Before entering politics, Manchin helped found and was the president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates. Manchin won the 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008. He won the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd's death with 53% of the vote, and in 2012 was elected to a full term with…
