A Betrayal of Biden?: Democrat Senator Mulling An Independent Run For The White House

Speculation over Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) next big political move has been rampant. Will he run again for a political office in a deep red state, will he run for president, or will he retire from politics? The Blue Dog Democratic senator has since 2020 taken a number of stances that ran contrary to the mood of his fellow party members. Now there are rumors about Mr. Manchin running for president as an independent, according to Just The News.

This revelation was made by a major adviser to major GOP donors who congratulated the Blue Dog West Virginian for sticking up to his political convictions. The unnamed adviser opined that “Joe Biden has gone so far to the left. And sometimes it seems like Sen. Manchin is all alone in the Senate, except when (Arizona Sen.) Kyrtsen Sinema occasionally joins him. But really there are five to seven other Democrats who feel just like him. He just has the courage of his convictions to drive his decisions.”

The same adviser noted that Senator Manchin was spending time with said donors. “There are a number of conservatives who have spent time with Sen. Manchin. They were actually hoping he would switch to the Republican Party,” the adviser said. “Now the Senator hasn’t said this but it’s been suggested by others that he might have (switched) if Mitch McConnell [R-KY] wasn’t the GOP leader. An independent run might be the next best thing.”

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As DC Enquirer noted, the senator two months ago did not give a clear answer on whether he still identified as a Democrat or not. Mr. Manchin replied that “I identify as an American. I’m an American through and through.”

Politico last month had an article also noting that “Manchin says he’s not deciding on anything until the end of the year and is also pointedly refusing to rule out a presidential run on a third-party ticket.” Politico also interviewed Senator Tuberville (R-AL) who mused that “He’s [Manchin] running for something. I don’t know what it is. He’s going to have a tough race. I think West Virginia’s redder than we are in Alabama. So he’s going to put his best foot forward for a year and a half. We gotta think he’s going to run.”

MSNBC similarly noted the senator’s reluctance to share his plans. Mr. Manchin commented to the outlet, “My filing date is Jan. 15 in 2024, and I will make my decision maybe a little bit before that — but not until the end of the year, I can assure you.” When pressed on whether he would run as Democrat, Manchin partly answered “Can’t I be a moderate centrist with whatever identification or no identification? I would think.”