U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a maverick Democrat who has often bucked party leadership, told a radio station in his home state of West Virginia on Thursday that he is “thinking seriously” about leaving the party.
“I’m not a Washington Democrat,” Manchin said in the interview on Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval, a West Virginia Metro News show. “I’ve been thinking seriously about that (becoming an independent) for quite some time.”
Manchin and Democratic-turned-independent colleague Senator Kyrsten Sinema have been thorns in top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer’s side since the party won its majority in 2020. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, including three independents who caucus with them.
Last month Manchin further stirred Democratic concerns with an appearance in the early-voting state of New Hampshire with the “No Labels” group, where he mulled starting a third-party presidential campaign in 2024, challenging Democratic President Joe Biden. Having a third-party candidate would “threaten” the two major political parties, Manchin said.
Manchin has used his influence to block legislation that he opposes - including expanding voting rights protections and child tax credits - and to ensure passage of bills he supports, such as a major tax and climate law that passed last summer.
He faces a tough re-election bid next year in Republican-leaning West Virginia, which former President Donald Trump won by almost 39 percentage points in 2020. Manchin has not yet said if he will seek re-election, but he would face an even steeper road if he spurned his party and the fundraising support it can provide.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a former Democrat-turned Republican, began his campaign in April for the Republican nomination to seek Manchin’s seat.
Manchin, a popular former governor who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, has kept his seat in part by maintaining a reputation as a rare conservative Democrat in Washington.
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I don’t want to just angrily respond to a quip, but have you not been paying any attention at all for the last 2 years? Every big win for Biden, along with countless federal judge positions, have gotten approved through Manchin’s involvement. Sinema’s, too, unfortunately. Sinema is a liar, deserves no respect, and Arizona would be happy to elect a progressive democrat in her place. But Manchin, as annoying as he is, is probably the best we can expect from West Virginia. Him switching to Independent doesn’t mean a GenZ progressive is going to win his seat from him next election, it just means we lose an ally that is helping hold on to a very tenuous “majority” in the Senate. I don’t like him, but you cannot discount the fact that he has helped the Democrats a hell of a lot in the last couple years by mostly voting alongside them.
Justice Jackson is on the Supreme Court, and would not be if Manchin (or Sinema, for that matter) hadn’t approved.
So yes, they have helped the Dems. Not to mention, every significant piece of legislation that passed in the last Congress could have been killed by either of them.