How Joe Manchin Survives as a Democrat in West Virginia

Mr. Manchin stands in the way of the Biden administration’s expansive agenda. But in his home state, progressive Democrats with far-reaching policy goals are not his base — and he knows it.

With the fate of the progressive agenda depending on the support of Senator Joe Manchin III, who said again on Sunday that he would not abandon the filibuster to pass an expansive voting rights bill, interest groups and activists are gearing up for a full push to try to sway the moderate Democrat. It would be enough to make almost any Democratic politician in the country squirm. But probably not a Democrat from West Virginia. None of the demographic groups that animate today’s Democratic coalition are well-represented in the state. Black, Hispanic, college-educated, young, urban and professional voters all represent a much smaller share of the electorate in West Virginia than just about anywhere else.