U.S. Chamber Pens an Op-Ed for Joe Manchin

With all the public barbs being traded back and forth between the Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration, it’s easy to forget that the Chamber is backing at least one Democrat this year in a pretty public way. In today’s Charleston Gazette, Chamber president Thomas Donohue explained once again why his group is backing Gov. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in his Senate bid:

It’s no secret that the U.S. Chamber has had some big policy differences with the administration and Democrat leaders in Congress.  During his current campaign Gov. Manchin has promised to break with his party and administration when necessary to support common sense economic policies that will spur the creation of jobs.  As a nonpartisan organization that supports both Republicans and Democrats based on their support for economic growth and free enterprise, we are proud to join with our partners at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and endorse Joe Manchin for U.S. Senate.

Reports filed by the Chamber with the FEC indicate that the group’s issue ads are almost solely going after Democrats. I can’t find any record of the Chamber cutting ads either in favor of Manchin or in opposition to his opponent, Republican businessman John Raese, but maybe the Chamber agreeing to sit the race out is the closest equivalent to an endorsement that a Democrat can hope for these days.