Manchin: Senate appointment should come by Sunday

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) said Monday he expects to name an interim replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) by Sunday.

Manchin said his pick could come as early as Friday, but that it won’t happen before a special session of the state legislature addresses the state’s election code.

The special session is set for this Thursday — lawmakers are expected to re-write the state’s election code to allow for a special election this November to fill Byrd’s seat.  

Manchin plans to announce his own intentions for the seat after the legislature acts. He has said it’s “highly likely” that he would run in a special election this fall.  

More from the Charleston Daily Mail:

Lawmakers could have draft legislation Tuesday. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is working on it today. Manchin said Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s office was also involved.

Manchin also said the special session he calls this week will not deal with the gubernatorial succession, which has its own series of associated legal questions.

“It can’t be convoluted,” Manchin said of the Legislature’s work on Senate succession law. “It can’t be thrown in with other concerns.”