AG: Manchin can set special election

CHARLESTON, W.Va., July 8 (UPI) -- West Virginia's attorney general said Wednesday Gov. Joe Manchin can set the date for a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Robert Byrd.

"It is the opinion of the attorney general that the power of the governor to proclaim special election carries with it the power to set the date of the election, filing date for candidates and all other election procedures," Attorney General Darrell McGraw wrote in an official legal opinion, Politico reported Thursday.

Manchin Wednesday expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate seat. He said he wanted to move the special election from 2012 to this year but wanted McGraw's opinion first.

McGraw said language in the 17th Amendment "clearly empowers the governor to call a special election where, as here, a vacancy occurs after the regularly scheduled even-year primary election but outside of the statutory limit for an appointment." McGraw also suggested that the primary be held on the day of the general election, Nov. 2.