Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) sparked speculation that he may leave the Democrat party ahead of 2024, amid his latest comments about having a close relationship with “No Labels.”
The Democrat senator touted his relationship with No Labels, the political group that has been trying to allow all 50 states to vote on a third-party candidate in the presidential elections, and the possibility of a nationwide run.
“I’ve been part of No Labels since December of 2010. It’s the only game in town that wants to bring people together and get Democrats and Republicans working together,” Manchin told the Hill.
Asked if he could run nationwide on the No Labels ticket, Manchin claimed, “People are starving, starving to work together.” He added that voters are sick of “this constant, daily routine of everyone’s against everybody and everybody’s fighting and arguing…Let’s be for the country and get something done.”
Manchin, a moderate senator up for reelection in a deep red state, has been keeping his plans for the 2024 election close to the belt for some time. Ultimately this has led to speculation about if he will run for reelection in the U.S. Senate, make a presidential bid, or if he will run as a Democrat at all.
Despite leaving people guessing, the West Virginia Senate race is already heating up with Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) joining the race last week and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), on the Republican side, in the battle to unseat Manchin.
Manchin released a statement shortly after Justice’s announcement claiming he is “laser-focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do” and “will win any race” he enters.
Last month, Manchin told NBC’s Meet the Press that he would not make his decisions “until the end of the year” since his filing deadline is not until the middle of January next year. However, the last time he ran for reelection, he did not announce his decision to run again until January 23, 2018 — four weeks into the election year.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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