'The Brand Has Become So Bad': Manchin May Leave Democratic Party Before 2024 Election - Potential To Split The Vote In West Virginia

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Thursday that he is "thinking seriously" about walking away from the emaciated remains of the West Virginia Democratic Party and becoming an independent before launching his 2024 re-election campaign.

In remarks to local radio host Hoppy Kercheval, according to The Hill, Manchin explained, "I’m thinking seriously. For me, I have to have peace of mind, basically." 

"The brand has become so bad — the D brand and R brand. In West Virginia, the D brand because it’s [the] national brand. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington," he added. "You’ve heard me say a million times I’m not a Washington Democrat."

According to The New York Post, Manchin has “been thinking about that for quite some time” but he wants to “make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice,” however, he hasn't “made any decisions” yet.

Despite his protestations that the problem doesn't lie with Democrats in West Virginia, others have cited the near-extinction of the party as a viable political force as a major problem. 

“I don’t think he can pull it out,” Deirdre Purdy, chair of the Calhoun County Democratic Party, told Politico in May. “My county has so few Democrats in it, I can’t even get a full committee together.”

Larry Puccio, Manchin’s friend and former chief-of-staff told the outlet that “This is just who he is." Puccio noted, “He just doesn’t focus on the campaign till he has to. He’s busy being a senator for West Virginia and legislating. He’ll sit down with his family, I would guess sometime in like... December and that’s when they’ll make a decision. I’m pretty sure that’s what he did last time.”

Manchin finds himself in trouble with his own nearly extinct Democrat Party base in West Virginia with popular Republican Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) running to his right with a 22-point lead, according to Newsweek. If Manchin does indeed leave the Democratic Party, it would likely force a scramble for a viable candidate. Even if Charlestown Democrats find one, this would lead to a fatal split vote from Manchin loyalists and the scraps of the West Virginia Democratic Party. It’s a surefire recipe for disaster for the West Virginia Democrats. It’s an old lesson that Arizona's Democrats must’ve missed in Poli Sci... based on Manchin ally Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (I-AZ) upcoming race against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). You don’t split the vote.

As the speculation abounds, rumors of a possible independent Manchin presidential run in 2024 still persist, as previously reported by DC Enquirer.