Under state law, if Byrd dies in office, the governor would have to appoint someone to fill the seat until the next general election, said Bob Bastress, a professor at the West Virginia University College of Law.
Bastress added that the governor may be able appoint himself to the seat should it become open, but he called that a political unlikelihood.
"The talk is that, if Byrd resigns, Manchin would appoint a caretaker until he (Manchin) could run in 2012 when Byrd's term and Manchin's gubernatorial term expire," wrote Bastress in an e-mail interview.
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/524841.htmlThere is speculation that the "caretaker" in this scenario would be Manchin's wife Gayle. But as Professor Bastress says, he
could appoint himself.
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