Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday he is "thinking seriously" about dropping his affiliation with the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.
Why it matters: Manchin has made a career out of proclaiming his independence from D.C. Democrats. But his latest comments have added significance, given his public flirtation with a possible third party presidential bid in 2024.
What he's saying: "I'm thinking seriously," Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval, adding, "I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad. The D brand and R brand ... You've heard me say a million times, I am not a Washington Democrat."
Pressed on how seriously he is approaching the idea, Manchin said he has "been thinking about that for quite some time" and wants to "make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice."
Manchin said he hasn't "made any decisions," telling Kercheval, "When I get ready to make a decision, I'll come see you."
The backdrop: Manchin has been dropping hints for months that he may follow the lead of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who announced her switch to independent in December but still caucuses with Democrats.
Asked about becoming an independent later that month during a CBS News interview, Manchin said, "I'll let you know later what I decide to do, but right now I have no intention of changing anything."
There were rumors as far back as 2021 that Manchin may bolt the party – though he dismissed them then as "bull****."
What we're watching: Manchin faces an uphill reelection battle in a state that voted for former President Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020. The frontrunner in the GOP primary for his seat is popular Gov. Jim Justice.
Manchin has spent the last year distancing himself from President Biden and fellow Democrats, repudiating parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and even threatening to oppose Biden's Environmental Protection Agency nominees.
He may also decide to go another way. He headlined a New Hampshire town hall last month hosted by No Labels, a centrist group that is laying the groundwork for a potential third party presidential ticket.
Biden and Clinton are center-right democrats. Buttigieg is center-right to center. Bloomberg is a right wing democrat. Warren and Sanders are center left to left. Tulsi Gabbard is not on the chart. Manchin and Sinema are not on the chart.
They should pull his funding and his assignments and send them where they can do more good. The republicans shot themselves in the foot by overplaying the culture war thing. They lost on abortion in almost every race. Shit, they lost on an off year special ballot initiative in freaking Ohio just because it would pertain to abortion in a future election - it wasn’t even mentioned on the ballot, even though they tried to deny it was about preventing a popular vote on keeping abortion legal. Everyone just knows by now that they’re lying about that kind of thing, because they just can’t back away from the issue.
Her move to leave was blatant self interest. Polls showed she was going to lose a primary in a landslide. She has no chance in hell of winning re-election. She's just hoping to be a spoiler at this point.
Actually, I think this is the only reason he hasn't been hung by his testicles by the rest of the Democrat party. It is literally the one and only purpose he serves, as he's been a massive roadblock to virtually all other meaningful legislation.
And what people understand is we still need him for that purpose.
Right now, the Senate is a 51/49 split. If Diane Feinstein kicks the bucket, Manchin and Sinema would literally decide who the Senate Majority leader is. Piss off Manchin and he votes for McConnell, and would you really trust Sinema not to flip votes in exchange for political favors?
Manchin may be almost singlehandedly stopping the Democrat agenda, but it's at least better (Read: slightly less shitty) than stopping the Democrat agenda and installing McConnell as majority leader and sending us backwards.
The wolf tries and fails to charade as a sheep, manchin doesn't try a charade he just plays lip service and everyone goes "uh huh, sure" and we move on.
Bernie Sanders has also "left the Democratic party", he's an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
If that's what Manchin is considering, it probably makes him more electable in WV. If he's voting with Democrats on most things like he is now, that sounds like a good thing.
Why he hasn’t been kicked out for blocking the alleged dem agenda every step of the way is a bit of a puzzle…until you put the pieces together to realize he’s expertly doing his job.
If not Manchin, Sinema. If not her, the senate parliamentarian. If not them, repugs will yell at us. If not that, anything they need, to not actually do a damn thing to materially improve the lives of working class people.
Yeah well, he represents the voter constituents in a state that is historically right leaning so I'd say I agree with you but I'm fairly sure you didn't mean it that way.
He would have to be incredibly stupid to do so. The only reason he has so much influence is because he's the furthest right Democrat. The second he's no longer a dem, he's just another replaceable right-wing shit head.