No, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) hasn’t announced any campaign officials, at least not yet. He’s still playing coy about whether he’ll run for re-election as a moderate Democrat in a vivid red state, or perhaps even run for president. He is almost 76 years aged and has had a long political career in West Virginia at both the state and federal levels. Perhaps he will retire then. Regardless, if he does anything other than seek re-election, his fellow Democrats are concerned.
Manchin is up for reelection in 2024, and if he decides to run again, the Senate races will be one of the most significant to watch, if not the race to watch. West Virginia, Montana and Ohio are vying for the top spot. All three states are increasingly red, and the incumbent Democrat is up for re-election.
It’s likely that Democrats will only have a chance to keep their West Virginia Senate seat if Manchin runs again, given the incumbency advantage. The state voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 by 42.1 points percent and in 2020 by 38.9 percentage points. Meanwhile, Manchin managed to hold on in 2018something of a blue wave, winning re-election by just 3.3 percentage points.
West Virginia is also the state where President Joe Biden has the lowest approval ratings in the nation, as Civiqs survey followed.
The Republican Senate primary has so far attracted Republican Rep. Alex Mooney and Jim Justice, the state’s popular, term-limited incumbent governor. Meanwhile, Manchin is deeply unpopular, a fact perhaps no better illustrated than in: Survey with morning consultations from the first quarter of this year.
Percentage of registered voters in West Virginia who approve or disapprove of the performance of Senator Joe Manchin and Governor Jim Justice:
Manchina
Approve: 38%
Disagree: 55%Justice
Approve: 66%
I disagree: 31%https://t.co/q8klQ5ilPc pic.twitter.com/7DelxtyM5v— Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) April 19, 2023
Manchin’s Democratic colleagues are encouraging him to run for re-election, as mentioned in POLITICO report. This includes Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman Gary Peters of Michigan. Even Republicans, like sense. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are cited as encouraging him to run again, given that they are also considered moderates.
Manchin, however, could lose his seat, especially to Justice, as polls and Justice’s self-confidence predict. But if Manchin doesn’t run, Democrats are even more certain they’ll have to give up the seat.
Senior Democratic strategist David Axelrod weighed in on Manchin’s political future earlier this month, speculating that Manchin “knows he can’t win re-election in this state” — West Virginia — and that running for president could be a “grace” for him exit.” ” Manchin responded, however, and a spokesperson emphasized to Fox News that Manchin was focused on doing what was best for the people of West Virginia.
“This is a funny commentary on the polls because the same intelligent pollsters said that Barack Obama’s poll numbers prove that he has no chance against Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump can never win the first election, and the Republicans will win a huge victory in 2022. . Senator Manchin is focused on doing the best job for West Virginia and the American people. The only poll that matters is the one conducted on election day,” the spokesman said.
Given that Manchin has said he will announce his plans atend of the year“And”I do not hurry”, we still have a long way to go, and there are plenty of reasons for speculation along the way.
A series of headlines this week show that Manchin’s Democrats are concerned. Among them was a POLITICO report in which people such as Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wanted Manchin to remain in the Senate rather than run for president and support elect Trump, assuming he would be elected the Republican nominee once again.
As mentioned in the report:
Joe Manchin loves keeping his political options open — and now, as the West Virginia centrist flirts with an outside campaign for president, his Democratic colleagues are taking him seriously enough to try to dissuade him.
Manchin has never hidden the mystery surrounding his future, whether it involves his old job as governor or how he voted in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. But while many doubt he will take up the White House’s offer, Democrats also fear that if he does, it could hand both the Senate and the White House to the GOP.
Manchin’s refusal to silence talk of a White House bid potentially financed by the centrist group No Labels gives him an advantage over party leaders: The more they need him to run for Senate re-election, the more attention he can pay to his priorities.
That’s because Manchin is the only candidate praying for his Senate seat to remain blue. And if Republicans win the presidency in 2024, they will only need one candidate in the Senate to take control.
That’s why some Democrats are letting Manchin know he’s making a mistake.
The fear may in fact be real, not only because Manchin has yet to run for president, but because a group known as No Labels, a group that Manchin has spoken positively about, wants Manchin to run for president. because he has repeatedly expressed doubts about his words, these are extremes on both the left and the right, while promoting a kind of golden mean and the idea of unification.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Manchin told POLITICO, while disputing the notion that his presidential bid would automatically help Trump. “There are huge concerns about our country and the direction this country is heading. That’s all. We are talking about whether it will harm anyone if there is any interest in trying to save a centrist, moderate measure,” he also added. he said.
Washington Examiner also moved Manchin’s potential presidential bid, providing more context on No Labels, which would effectively abandon the effort if Trump were not re-elected as the GOP nominee. The group also says it’s “too premature” to say whether Manchin is their top choice. Earlier this month, the group told the Washington Examiner it wouldn’t make a decision until next year’s nominating convention.
Manchin participated in the group’s founding in 2010, as did Collins, who, like him, is an honorary co-chair. Both were mentioned in a Fox News article that wrote not one, but two articles about Manchin potentially running for president focuses on Without Labels but also concerns of other Democrats. It was also an episode of Thursday’s “Five,” which is part of Fox News.
Manchin has acted coy not only on whether he will run for re-election or for president, but also on whether he supports Biden’s nominees. He is likely to vote against Julie Su, Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, but he also opposes other candidates. Manchin, as highlighted last month, also disagrees with his party on issues such as abortion and support for Build Back Better. While he doesn’t question the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), it may already be too little too overdue because his vote helped get it passed. E&E News recently discussed “Inside Manchin’s war with Biden over electric vehicles“
If Manchin decides to do something that doesn’t help the Democratic Party, who can really blame him?
