A key Democrat in the Senate said on Thursday that he is “thinking seriously” about registering as an independent as he weighs whether to run for re-election or launch a presidential campaign.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) made the comment during an interview with West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval. He emphasized tensions between himself and both parties in the nation’s capital. The senator, who has served in the upper chamber as a Democrat since 2010, told Kercheval he is undecided on what his political affiliation will be in the 2024 election, according to The Hill.
“For me, I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad — the D brand and R brand. In West Virginia, the D brand because it’s [the] national brand,” Manchin said.
Republicans have already spent $2 million targeting Manchin’s seat, and the GOP primary field is crowded with prominent politicos. Manchin has yet to declare whether he will run for re-election, but he would likely prove challenging to unseat due to his moderate views and name recognition.
Manchin suggested he views himself as part of a distinct tendency within the Democratic Party.
“It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington,” Manchin said in the interview. “You’ve heard me say a million times I’m not a Washington Democrat.”
No Labels, a bipartisan political organization, said it would boost a third-party candidate if President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump end up in a rematch in 2024. Manchin has been rumored to be the group’s preferred choice, and it was announced that he will be hosting the organization’s “Common Sense” town hall, which will take place at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, Fox News reported.
Manchin said his goal ahead of the election, regardless of what he runs for, is to expose the radical tendencies in both political parties.
“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,” Manchin said, per The Hill. “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.”
