Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who could be seen as a Trump sympathizer, has endorsed Senator Susan Collins. This is a rare move for a Democrat Senator to endorse a GOP Senators re-election campaign.
According to The Daily Caller:
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin reportedly endorsed Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins for reelection, crossing party lines in a divided Senate.
Manchin not only endorsed Collins, he also offered to campaign for her, as Democrats are trying to regain control of the Senate, according to Politico. He reportedly said this in a C-SPAN interview set to air Friday night. The two have agreed with each other on many issues, including the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Collins has faced criticism and a number of threats since voting in support of Kavanaugh. Before the vote to confirm Kavanaugh, she had also been receiving hate mail, including a “three-foot-long cardboard cutout of male genitalia,” which was sent to Collins’ Washington, D.C., office.
Manchin was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Manchin has been known to work with the GOP on issues and continues to move more to the center as his state becomes more conservative.