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The lead currently says Manchin "became the state's senior U.S. senator when Jay Rockefeller retired in 2015". To my understanding the "senior senator" is the Senator who has been in office the longest, so how does Manchin become the senior Senator straight away? CMD (talk) 05:54, 17 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It can be complicated sorting it out.
Jay Rockefeller was first elected to the WV senate in 1985. He was (by far) the Senior Senator by the time he retired.
Joe Manchin was first elected to the WV senate in 2010. At that time he was the Junior Senator serving alongside Rockefeller.
Rockefeller, prior Senior Senator, announced he would retire in 2015.
Shelley Moore Capito ran for his office and won in the 2014 election. Because she was newly elected to the seat formerly held by Rockefeller, she became the Junior Senator, because Manchin had already been in office for five years, and was thus the Senior Senator.
It basically comes down to which of the two senators of that state have been in office the longest.
Ah, I see now. I was confused by the order of the lead sentences: I read it as Rockefeller retiring that left a gap for Manchin to become a senator, as it immediately follows a sentence about his pre-senate jobs. Thanks! CMD (talk) 06:45, 17 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]
A reminder to editors: This page is for discussion of article improvement. It is also a BLP talk page with specific restrictions due to that characteristic. It is not a page to speculate about the subject's life, or to present leading questions that make implications about the subject of the biography. Editors are expected to be the researchers - if you believe something isn't adequately covered, research first - find sources. Don't guess about motives or reasons. Answer your own question - if you can't find sources that discuss or explain what you're asking about, then asking here is pointless - you're just expecting other editors to do the research for you. cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is.18:19, 27 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]