After considering the matter for a few months, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) announced on Friday that he will not be running for president.
A party-wide push was launched to counter Manchin’s ties to the centrist organization No Labels, claiming he would only benefit former President Trump if he ran for office. Despite keeping his options open, declining to endorse Biden, and expressing hopes that Biden would move toward the center, Manchin has admitted that he could not back Trump. He referred to Biden as a “compassionate person” on Friday.
No Labels, promoting a possible “Unity ticket” and referencing surveys indicating Americans are unhappy with their options, gained prominence due to speculation of Manchin’s third-party bid. Friday, the group’s leaders released a statement announcing they are in talks with other outstanding leaders about the possibility of running for president on the Unity ticket.
In the months leading up to his retirement from the Senate, Manchin has been traveling the nation to gauge support for his moderate platform and has not explicitly denied the notion that he may run for president. Even though Romney has openly tried to discourage Manchin from launching an independent candidacy, he suggested retiring Republican Mitt Romney (UT) as a possible running mate on Thursday.
Among Manchin’s previous positions are governor, secretary of state, and state representative for West Virginia. With his new centrist organization, Americans Together, he claims he can still impact politics by bringing politics closer to the center. He is well-known for his role in reducing the Democratic agenda during Joe Biden’s first two years in office when he argued that the party was attempting to launch long-term new projects without the money to support them.
Manchin has been angry by the recent breakdown of a bipartisan border agreement and voiced his disapproval of some gun safety measures.
Ex-Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who was also considering running on the No Labels ticket, changed his mind earlier this month and will instead seek the seat left by three-term Democratic Senator Ben Cardin in his home state.
