- Manchin ruled out an independent run for president
- The moderate Democrat has been teasing the idea of a presidential candidate for months
- Experts worried that a more moderate candidate would only help former President Donald Trump defeat President Joe Biden in 2024
Senator Joe Manchin announced Friday that he will not run an independent campaign for president.
“I’m not going to look for a third party,” he said during a speech at West Virginia University. “I will not be involved in a presidential run.”
Details of the announcement were first reported by the WashingtonPost.
The West Virginia Democrat is one of a handful of moderate U.S. senators who continued to weigh a challenge against aging President Joe Biden and bombastic former President Donald Trump.
Manchin repeatedly cited the need to provide voters with a more centrist-sensible option in the 2024 presidential election.
He announced in November that he would withdraw from the Senate and not seek re-election in 2024 while embarking on a “listening tour” of the country before deciding on his political future.
Americans Together founder and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is surrounded by reporters as he heads to a Senate vote
On Thursday, Manchin teased reporters about a possible presidential announcement during an appearance at the City Club of Cleveland breakfast.
“Through a third party, everything is on the table,” Manchin said in response to a question from NBC News. ‘Nothing is off the table. I’m still evaluating all that.’
He also teased a possible choice for a running mate if he were to run for president.
“Hypothetically, if I were choosing my running mate, I would actually ask Mitt Romney right now,” Manchin said.
Romney joked with reporters in response to Manchin’s comment.
“Well, that’s really presumptuous,” Romney said. “I would be the president. He would be my running mate.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) (R) speaks with U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Vice President Joe Biden
Romney and Manchin, who are both retiring from the Senate, regularly talk about creating a new political party, both frustrated by the direction of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Democrats bristled at the idea of Manchin launching a third-party run, arguing that would only siphon votes from Biden to help Trump.
The “working slogan” for the party, Romney explained to his biographer, was “stop the stupid,” but the idea never came to fruition.