Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin expressed concern about the upcoming May primary, emphasizing the importance of voter choice.”It’s not what our founding fathers intended,” Manchin said, advocating for open elections that allow independent voters to participate. He criticized the potential move towards a closed Republican primary. “It shouldn’t be the system picking the candidates; it should be the people,” he said.The Kanawha County GOP recently affirmed their decision to hold closed primaries.. The West Virginia Republican Committee will take a final vote today on whether or not to proceed with the change.