Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, announced Thursday that he will not run for reelection next year, and announced that he will be traveling across the country ahead of a potential presidential bid.
Moderate Democrat Senator Joe Manchin announced Thursday that he will not be seeking re-election in 2024. Manchin would have faced a very uphill battle against the likely Republican nominee, Gov. Jim Justice, in a very Republican state.
“After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” Manchin said in a statement.
Manchin insisted that he was going to remain in politics still and that he was going to travel across the country to test the waters for a potential Presidential bid.
“I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for reelection to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” Manchin said.
Manchin has been talked about as one of the candidates that could be on a “unity ticket” for the new “No Labels” Party, who previously called Manchin “a tireless voice for America’s commonsense majority and a longtime ally.”
“Nothing is off the table,” one source close to Manchin said, adding, “No specific decisions have been made other than a commitment to find a way to change the country’s political dialogue.”