So who is Senator Carte Goodwin?
He is 36 years old and a practicing attorney in West Virginia. He served as Manchin's general counsel
from 2005-2009. He's is a trusted associate of Manchin, and has known the governor since 2004, when Goodwin worked as a volunteer
in his campaign.
Goodwin is also a from a prominent West Virginia family -- his uncle is a federal judge, his cousin a U.S. attorney,
and his father (who recently died) had chaired the West Virginia university board of governors. Also, Goodwin's wife, Rochelle, is
the state director his colleague -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller.
Goodwin left office in January of last year to go back into private
practice as an attorney. He's currently a partner at his family's law firm based in Charleston, appropriately named Goodwin &
Goodwin.