Tomblin, Manchin, Rahall to skip Democratic convention - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

Tomblin, Manchin, Rahall to skip Democratic convention

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By Ann Ali, Senior Political Reporter - bio | email

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After weeks of questions about their support for a Presidential candidate, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., have announced they will not attend the Democratic National Convention slated for September in Charlotte, N.C.

State Party Chairman Larry Puccio issued an announcement June 18 with the full list of delegates. West Virginia had 11 uncommitted candidates and 36 candidates who had pledged their support.

Manchin, who spoke at the convention in 2008 when he was governor, issued his own statement June 18.

"I intend to spend this fall focused on the people of West Virginia, whether that's representing them in my official U.S. Senate duties or here at home, where I can hear about their concerns and ideas to solve the problems of this great nation," Manchin said in a prepared statement. "I will remain focused on bringing people together for the next generation, not the next election."

Despite a state convention nearly two weeks ago in which the party pledged to whole-heartedly throw its support behind President Barack Obama, Tomblin and Manchin shied away from a decision.

"Governor Tomblin has made the decision to not attend the Democratic National Convention," Tomblin Campaign Spokesman Chris Stadleman said Monday evening. "As he has said, he has serious problems with both Governor (Mitt) Romney and President Obama.

"The governor feels that his time is best spent working in West Virginia to move our state forward instead of attending a four-day political rally in North Carolina."

After 40 percent of West Virginia voters went for convicted felon Keith Judd in the May primary election, national news outlets started watching the state's taste in Democrats more carefully, and national political pundits took to social media Monday afternoon to share the news that West Virginia's indecision had carried over, at least in part, to the national convention.

According to the website democraticconventionwatch.org, 28 other states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky had undecided Superdelegates in addition to West Virginia.