As has become an electoral tradition, West Virginia residents must once again ask what political direction longtime Democrat Joe Manchin will take in November after the U.S. senator announced on Friday that he was leaving the Democratic Party and changing his voter registration to “independent.”
The registration change means that Manchin, 76, could enter the race for governor or senator as an independent candidate in the general election in November.
Manchin’s party switch came just days after he pledged support to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Williams, mayor of Huntington, in the race against Republican candidate for the office, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. CommentsManchin said he would not seek the office of governor. This calmed Rumors those were in circulation For weeks, several Republicans unhappy with Morrisey’s victory in the primary have contacted Manchin to urge him to enter the race.
If he were to enter the race for the Senate seat, he would have to face Republican Governor Jim Justice and Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, whom Manchin is supporting in the race.
“I am very grateful for [Manchin’s] support and have no reason to believe he is interested in entering this Senate race,” Elliott said in a Social media post Friday. “From my many conversations with the Senator, I am convinced that he is serious about his desire to focus his energies on uniting the country, beyond the constraints of elected office. And I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
In a press release on Friday, Manchin – the said in November that he would not run for another term in the Senate – said his party switch was the result of “partisan extremism.” His comments this week echo those he has been making for months criticizing political division in the United States and his goal of uniting “the middle” of America.
“Today, our national politics is broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground,” Manchin’s statement said. “To stay true to myself and continue to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent candidate with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s common sense majority.”
The party switch did not go down well with the West Virginia Democratic Party. In a derisive press release, party chairman Mike Pushkin thanked Manchin for his support of Williams two days earlier. The support of an independent politician like Manchin, the press release said, “demonstrates the appeal that Steve Williams has across the political spectrum.”
“The Senator sees his new role as chairman of Americans Together, an organization can best address the gap between the two major parties, 8 months of his term as an independent,” said Pushkin.
Americans together is a political non-profit organization last year by Manchin and his daughter, former pharmaceutical executive Heather Bresch. The organization aims to unite Americans who see themselves in the middle of the two major political parties and pursue centrist policies.
After serving as governor of West Virginia for six years, Manchin moved to the Senate in 2010. He was elected to his first full term as senator in 2012 and has held that office ever since.
As a senator, Manchin has been in the national spotlight of tardy, often the deciding vote in the politically divided body. Democrats have lamented his lack of support for several initiatives of President Joe Biden’s administration, particularly on energy and tax policy.
The fact that political rumors about Manchin are circulating in the run-up to the election is nothing modern.
Last year, as the 2024 primaries approached, there was national talk of Manchin entering the presidential race as an independent. In 2020, he was bullied a run for governor against Justice. Justice was elected as a Democrat in 2016 – with sturdy support from Manchin – before switching his party affiliation to Republican on stage at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Huntington in 2017.
If Manchin decides to run in a statewide or federal race in the 2024 general election, he will soon have to begin collecting the signatures necessary to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate. According to the Office of the Secretary of StatePotential candidates who are not affiliated with a recognized political party must collect signatures from at least 1% of the people who voted for the seat they seek in the last election by August 1.
