Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) said on Wednesday that he was “torn” regarding whether he would vote to convict President Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors once the impeachment proceedings reach the Senate.
House Democrats are preparing to hold a vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. A majority of Democratic representatives have indicated they will support the articles.
“I’m very much torn on it,” Manchin told CNN. “I think it weighs on everybody.”
Manchin is a moderate Democrat whose home state of West Virginia gave Trump 68.5 percent of the vote in the 2016 elections, the largest margin of any state in the U.S. A poll by MetroNews West Virginia released on Wednesday showed that 59 percent of voters in the state are against impeaching the President.
Manchin suggested the Senate hear from witnesses including Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and possibly even Hunter Biden.
“We have a divided country. On the other hand, we have equal branch of governments, responsibilities in the Constitution,” Manchin said. “There are a lot of things at stake here.”
Moderate House Democrats in swing districts have been wary of casting their votes for impeachment. Politico has reported that a group of around 10 House Democrats has been discussing the idea of censuring the President over his actions regarding Ukraine, avoiding an impeachment vote.
On Wednesday Representative Elissa Slotkin (D. Mich.), whose district voted for Trump in 2016, told CNN she was undecided on whether to vote for articles of impeachment. This despite Slotkin’s announcement in September that she would support the impeachment inquiry.