Campaign
Early in the campaign, Warner called for Manchin, as a centrist Democrat, to endorse President George W. Bush for re-election over his Democratic rival John Kerry. Manchin's campaign spokesperson responded that Manchin backed "the Democratic nominee".
The two main candidates faced each other in three debates and one town hall meeting. Jesse Johnson, the Mountain Party candidate, unsuccessfully attempted to get the West Virginia Supreme Court to cancel the first debate, as he was not asked to take part.
Manchin had an edge in the election with better name recognition and a strong financial advantage over Warner. In the closing weeks of the election campaign, Manchin spent $3.3 million against $880,000 by Warner.
Read more about this topic: West Virginia Gubernatorial Election, 2004, General Election
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—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
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—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
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—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)