Joe Manchin Reveals His Decision On Running For President

On Friday, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) made it clear he would not enter the 2024 presidential race, putting to rest ongoing speculation about his potential bid against President Biden as an independent.

“I will not be seeking a third-party run,” he said during a speech in Morgantown, West Virginia. “I will not be involved in a presidential run.”

Following his November announcement that he wouldn’t seek re-election, speculation had swirled around Manchin, 76, regarding his political ambitions. He had notably toyed with the idea of running as a candidate for No Labels, a moderate organization looking to introduce a third-party contender in the anticipated face-off between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

“I will not be a deal breaker or a spoiler,” Manchin stated.

After Manchin announced his decision not to seek re-election, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the majority leader, has been urging him to officially exit the Democratic Party and pursue a Senate seat as an independent, according to the New York Times.

The deadline for filing to participate in a Senate primary race in West Virginia was in January. However, candidates wishing to run as independents have until August 1 to announce their intentions to run.

In the absence of Manchin, Democrats have conceded the likelihood of retaining the Senate seat in the strongly Republican-leaning state of West Virginia. They are facing significant challenges in maintaining their hold on the Senate, as they defend multiple seats in states that were won by Trump.

Manchin has long served as a swing vote in the Senate. Since his first election in 2010, Manchin has voted with Republicans on a number of important matters while siding with Democrats in others.

His support for President Biden’s massive infrastructure packages have causes his support to slip, however. Due to his largely middle of the road voting record, Manchin’s name had long been tossed around as a potential third party White House option in 2024.

“Let me just say I have never been a spoiler, nor will I ever be a spoiler on any election,” Manchin said during an appearance on Fox News in January. “If I’m involved, I’m involved to win. But to be a spoiler for the sake of throwing the election one way or the other, I would never do.”

“For any third-party attempt, it would define itself by, let’s say, Super Tuesday. If there’s going to be any movement whatsoever. I think you start looking after Super Tuesday to find out what the lay of the land is going to be. A lot can change in the next two months.”

“So let’s wait and see,” the outgoing senator went on to say. Manchin later travelled to New Hampshire where he launched Americans Together, a nationwide tour aimed to gauging interest in a potential run.