By Vicki Smith

and Lawrence Messina

The Associated Press

Two things are certain about the looming U.S. Senate battle between Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin and Republican businessman John Raese: A lot of money will be spent, and the GOP will try to make President Obama look like the unofficial running mate of the otherwise popular governor.

Manchin, 63, and Raese, 60, won their respective primaries Saturday and will face off Nov. 2 for the seat that belonged to the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd for more than half a century. Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson, 51, is also running.

In the month before the special election Raese consistently invoked the president's name, and he did the same at his victory party at the Hotel Morgan. He then went a step beyond his habit of calling the governor a liberal, using the word "leftist."

"In September we're going to give him something he's never seen before," Raese said. "It's called a clear vision and a clear picture of what a liberal has done in West Virginia and what a leftist possibly can do if he is elected to the United States Senate. Because that's Mr. Manchin."

The remarks earned a laugh from Manchin on Monday.

"They're going to have to find other things to call me. I don't think that is something anyone can take seriously," the governor said. "They're reaching. I understand that. I've been around the system long enough."

Neil Berch, associate professor of political science at West Virginia University, said Raese's game plan is clear: He will "try to convince West Virginia that Manchin's first name is Barack" and argue that while Manchin may have followed a moderate path in West Virginia, Manchin will vote with his party in the Senate.

"I think that's an uphill battle," said Berch.

"If the Democrats fall apart nationally, then the West Virginia election gets closer," Berch said. "But I think there's an awful lot of states where you'd see a Republican win before West Virginia."

Manchin cruised to an easy primary victory with little advertising. He noted that labor and business groups continue to endorse him -- as they did when he first won the governor's office in 2004. He said he has shown a knack for crossing party lines and other divides to improve the state, adding that "Washington could use a good dose of West Virginia."

"Anybody who does not think I'm fiercely independent has not paid attention. West Virginia Democrats are different," Manchin said. "We've shown results in six years. Who would have thought that we could have maintained an economy in such trying times? We did not cut services. We did not raise taxes <t40>...<t$> and we all worked together to do that."

Manchin, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term as governor, has won seven consecutive statewide elections, while Raese has lost four campaigns.

But Raese, who emerged from a pack of 10 GOP candidates in the primary, is confident his consistently conservative message and reputation as a job creator will resonate with voters when his campaign begins in earnest around Labor Day.

He won't say how much he plans to spend, but it's likely to be significant: Raese invested more than a half-million dollars in the primary, and $2.3 million in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Byrd in 2006.

"Anytime that you have a political race you ought to have enough money and enough support to get your message out," he said.

But he expressed disdain for candidates who spend tens of millions, noting Florida Republican Rick Scott used at least $38 million of his own fortune to win his gubernatorial primary last week.

"That's not what I'm about. Most of the time when I run, usually my opponent outspends me."

That, too, is likely.

Manchin remains the money leader coming off the primary. Federal Election Commission records show his campaign had raised at least $1.3 million as of Monday morning, including $136,000 reported in filings posted over the weekend.

Though traditionally Democratic, West Virginia is considered a red state. It backed John McCain in the last presidential election, and George W. Bush in the two before that.

Obama's environmental policies and his Environmental Protection Agency's stricter stance on mountaintop-removal coal mining have not helped his popularity in the nation's second largest coal producing state.

Raese and national Republicans seek to capitalize on that by portraying Manchin as being in step with national Democrats.

But Manchin opposes cap-and-trade legislation, campaign manager Sara Payne Scarbro said. He has long had the support of the coal industry. He has also offered mixed views on both the 2009 federal stimulus program and the sweeping health care overhaul passed earlier this year.

Raese would like to see three debates, one in each congressional district, before November. None have been scheduled yet. If elected, he wants to be sworn in Nov. 3.

"And if I go in, there are going to be a lot of people in the Republican Party and a lot of people in the Democratic Party in the United States who are going to take notice there's a new gun in town and not the same old stuff that we keep sending up to Washington from West Virginia," he said.

Manchin said he's receptive to a debate or forum, but noted that only about two months remain until the general election. He also repeated his call Saturday for the race to stay positive and issue-oriented.

"It astounds me that some people think that they can build up something by destroying people," Manchin said. "It's what sickens West Virginians and Americans."