You had me at “frequently quotes the abolitionist John Brown”

They desperately need a strong primary with several strong contenders, just to hopefully find the possible extent of Democratic votes in the state and try to find not only the best candidate but drum up excitement about the election among possible Democratic voters.

Because right now the popular wisdom is that ain't no way Manchin's replacement will be a Democrat, and even if that does seem likely by a huge margin, it's also self defeating 'wisdom' in that if a Republican will win anyway, people who otherwise might vote will be disinclined to waste their time.