No, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has not made up his mind about what he's doing in 2024, not yet at least. But, he did say on Thursday while speaking to West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval that he's "thinking seriously" about becoming an Independent before 2024, when he's up for reelection or might run for president, in an exchange highlighted by The Hill.
The move is hardly a shock. Manchin, just as he did on Thursday, has in the past raised concerns about both parties, and their supposed extremes. "For me, I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad--the D brand and R brand," he said on Thursday.
"I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time," he revealed about considering being an Independent. "I haven’t made any decisions whatsoever on any of my political direction. I want to make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice. When I do speak, I want to be able to speak honestly about basically the extremes of the Democrat and Republican Party that’s harming our nation."
It's not so much of a surprise also because of how Manchin is considered something of a moderate or even fellow conservative Democrat. His fellow moderate in the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, switched from the Democratic Party to an Independent last December. She too is up for reelection in 2024, though she hasn't yet indicated if she'll run.
Like the other Independents in the Senate, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, Sinema still caucuses with the Democrats. There isn't mention in the write-up who Manchin would caucus with.
Manchin also hasn't exactly been treated too well by his fellow Democrats, especially after he was responsible for tanking Build Back Better Act in December 2019. He spoke with Kercheval not long after he came out in opposition to the plan, during which he spoke to that mistreatment from his party.
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As Townhall had covered, the White House did not exactly helping their case when it comes to angry statements, going against Manchin's wishes in mentioning the senator by name, and even spreading lies.
Then again, Manchin still did make a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in July of last year so as to get the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed, which it did.
Although Manchin was promised permitting reforms, he ultimately asked Schumer to remove it from September's continuing resolution (CR) after considerable pushback and opposition from fellow Democrats who argued that they didn't make that deal with Manchin. Republicans were also unwilling to help.
Joe Manchin Asks Schumer to Remove Permitting Reforms From Continuing Resolution https://t.co/TqHjaZCM2j
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 28, 2022
Manchin has since criticized the IRA and threatened to vote to repeal it, but it's nevertheless a bill that he's responsible for getting signed into law.
When it comes to a decision for 2024, Manchin told the radio host "When I get ready to make a decision, I’ll come see you." He has said and stuck to that he won't make a decision "until the end of the year," as he said on "Meet the Press" in April.
With regards to a potential presidential run, possibly under the No Labels group which the senator has been a founding member and honorary co-chair of, Manchin and Democratic strategist David Axelrod got into it about why he might be running.
Speaking on CNN in June, Axelrod pointed out that "Manchin is "kind of dead man walking in West Virginia" and that "there’s nowhere for him to go," especially given how handily the state voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
"He didn’t win by very much last time. So he knows that he can’t win reelection in that state," Axelrod continued. Manchin beat Republican Patrick Morrisey by 3.3 points in 2018. Axelrod also proposed that running for president could be "a graceful exit for him."
Does Joe Manchin Have Any Idea What He Is Doing for 2024? https://t.co/cf6Hv35W5I
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 6, 2023
A spokesperson still maintained that Manchin could win, though. "This is a funny comment about polls since the same smart pollsters said Barack Obama’s poll numbers proved he had no chance against Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump could never win the first election, and Republicans would win huge in 2022. Senator Manchin’s focus is on doing the best job for West Virginia and the American people. The only poll that matters is the one on Election Day," the spokesperson said in a statement for Fox News at the time.
Manchin indeed faces a tough reelection battle, especially given how red West Virginia is. The popular sitting governor, Jim Justice, is running in the Republican primary, as is Rep. Alex Mooney, who was featured in POLITICO earlier this month for his run, as he "won’t get out of the way."
An East Carolina University poll from May has Justice up 22 points in a hypothetical match against Manchin. The seat is regarded as "Toss-Up" or even slightly favoring the Republican. Data from Morning Consult released in April showed that both Justice to be a popular governor, while Manchin is an unpopular senator, making for a potentially difficult path to victory if that is the matchup.
Upon Justice announcing his run in late April, Manchin maintained that he could still win. "I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do – lowering healthcare costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order. But make no mistake, I will win any race I enter," he said in a statement.
It's On: Joe Manchin Closer Than Ever to Losing His Senate Seat https://t.co/gRJYlRVjiv
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 27, 2023
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