Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia stated Thursday that he’s been contemplating leaving the Democratic Party “for quite some time,” marking an escalation in his long-running flirtation with turning into an unbiased.
“I would think very seriously about that. I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time,” the conservative Democrat informed West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval.
“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,” he stated.
Mr. Manchin has not stated whether or not he’ll search reelection subsequent yr as Republicans line as much as problem him within the ruby-red state. He additionally hasn’t dominated out a third-party bid towards President Biden.
Mr. Manchin has more and more leaned into the thought of following within the footsteps of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona by switching from Democrat to unbiased because the 2024 election grows close to, regardless of beforehand saying after Ms. Sinema’s change in celebration affiliation he had no intention of doing the identical.
“I have no intention of doing anything right now. Whether I do something later, I can’t tell you what the future is going to bring,” Mr. Manchin stated final December. “I’m not a Washington Democrat … People are registering more for independent than any other party affiliation. They are sick and tired of it.”
Mr. Manchin used comparable rhetoric in Thursday’s interview, criticizing the “extremes” of each events for “having gone off the Richter Scale” and whacking the Democratic model as “so bad.” He stated that he presently “can’t accept either party.”
“I’m thinking seriously. For me, I have to have peace of mind,” Mr. Manchin stated of turning into an unbiased. “The brand has become so bad — the ‘D’ brand and ‘R’ brand. In West Virginia, the ‘D’ brand because it’s nationally bad. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia. It’s the Democrats in Washington, or the Washington policies of the Democrats. You’ve heard me say a million times that I’m not a Washington Democrat.”
Leaving the Democratic Party would imply the Senate’s small variety of independents would develop to 4, with the others being Ms. Sinema, Sen. Angus King of Maine and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
All three present independents caucus with Democrats, permitting them to take care of a slender one-seat majority.
Mr. Manchin says a choice on his political future will possible come round yr’s finish. If he does select to hunt one other time period within the higher chamber, he’ll face lengthy odds in a state former President Donald Trump gained by about 39 share factors in 2020.
A ballot from East Carolina Center for Survey Research in May discovered Mr. Manchin trailed Republican Gov. Jim Justice by 22 factors in a hypothetical match-up. Rep. Alex Mooney is working towards Mr. Justice for the Republican main nomination.
In his final reelection bid, Mr. Manchin bested West Virginia Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in 2018 by slightly greater than three factors.
The Democrat has grow to be more and more hostile to President Biden’s inexperienced vitality agenda as 2024 attracts close to by calling it “radical,” opposing nominees and trashing the very tax-and-climate spending legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act — that he helped write.
Mr. Manchin as soon as once more batted down the notion {that a} third-party presidential run would hand the keys to the White House over to Mr. Trump, as lots of his Democratic colleagues worry.
“I don’t see that favoring either side because you just can’t tell how this is going to break,” he stated. “The bottom line is, will the middle speak up? Does the middle have a voice?”
Mr. Manchin continued: “If we can create a movement that people understand, we could have a voice. We can make a big, big splash, and maybe bring the traditional parties of the Democratic and Republican Party back to what they should be today.”
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