WV is not actually strongly conservative. They’re an interesting breed of rural state type conservative with a unique set of progressive ideologies mixed in. But if you aren’t aware of that, Manchin seems like a really bizarre representative.
To give you an idea, if I had to choose, I’d rather spend the rest of my live in WV than in southwest ohio.
It’s only the last 20 years that it’s gone consistently red and I’m 100% convinced it’s bc of anti-coal policy which overshadows everything else to them. I know I’ve posted before about democrats dropping the ball w/WV for not promising something good in return for going after coal.