Joe Manchin isn’t looking for re-election
A possible misplaced seat for Democrats in 2024.
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Friday, November 10, 2023
· 9 feedback
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WaPo (“Senate Democrat Joe Manchin says he won’t search re-election“):
Late. Joe Manchin III (DW.Va.) introduced Thursday that he wouldn’t search re-election in 2024, setting again Democrats’ plans to carry onto their Senate majority in 2024 and expressing fears that he may change into embroiled within the presidential race as a 3rd. -party candidate.
“After months of consideration and lengthy conversations with my household, I imagine in my coronary heart that I’ve completed what I got down to do for West Virginia,” Manchin stated in a video posted to X. “I’ve made one of many hardest selections of my life and determined that I cannot run for re-election to the USA Senate.”
Manchin, 76, had defied political gravity by holding onto his seat in a deep purple state, however would have confronted lengthy odds towards both Gov. Jim Justice or Rep. Alex Mooney (W.Va.), who’s operating within the GOP major subsequent 12 months. The veteran politician had run the coal nation state as governor, however West Virginia’s rightward flip lately had left him the one Democrat in state workplace.
Confronted with what he knew would possible be the race of his life, Manchin thought-about retiring from politics altogether or operating for president as a third-party candidate backed by the centrist group No Labels.
Manchin’s announcement video suggests he hasn’t chosen the retirement path simply but, saying he deliberate to journey the nation to gauge “if there’s an curiosity in making a motion to mobilize the center and produce People collectively.”
Democrats worry such a bid would damage President Biden’s probabilities for re-election at a time when polls present him shedding swing states to former President Donald Trump and when a number of different candidates are additionally launching third-party candidates.
Manchin spokeswoman Sam Runyon declined to touch upon whether or not he deliberate to pursue a presidential run, and a No Labels spokeswoman stated the group will not resolve till early 2024 whether or not to appoint a ticket and who that will likely be together with it.
“The Senate will lose an ideal chief when he leaves, however we commend Senator Manchin for taking the step to guide a long-overdue nationwide dialog about addressing America’s biggest challenges, together with inflation, an unsure border, out-of-control debt and rising threats from overseas,” stated No Label spokeswoman Maryanne Martini.
Manchin has lengthy been a paradox: the one Democrat prone to win a Senate seat from West Virginia, and the senator arguably the largest thorn within the aspect of caucus management. Whether or not his positions had been primarily based on ideology, honors, donor pursuits, or a mixture of those, the very fact remained that he was a voice for a Democratic majority chief and committee chairs, and he’ll nearly definitely get replaced by a Republican.
We’ll see if he really joins a No Labels ticket. If he does, I am not so certain he’ll principally take votes from President Biden. There are numerous voters in search of a substitute for a 2020 rerun, and it is fairly doable that there are extra Trump diehards in that camp than Biden diehards.
Nevertheless, I discover it amusing that the choice to the (then) 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump will likely be one other 77-year-old if he leads stated ticket.