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Sen. Joe Manchin said Friday that he will not run for president, after months of going back and forth with the idea of launching a third-party bid.
“I will not be seeking a third-party run,” Manchin said during a speech at West Virginia University. “I will not be involved in a presidential run. I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together.”
Manchin added that he did not “think it was the right time” to run and reiterated a now-common sentiment from anti-Trump folks: “Democracy is at stake right now.” The West Virginia senator noted that he didn’t want to be a spoiler for Biden in his fight against the former president.
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The 76-year-old lawmaker has long been seen as a potential presidential contender, particularly after he announced last year that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat. Friday’s announcement is a quick shift from comments Manchin made Thursday, where he speculated on who he’d “hypothetically” pick as a running mate and told reporters that “everything is on the table” in regards to 2024-related options.
Manchin’s decision is a reprieve for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. The West Virginia senator was long seen as someone who, if he did jump into the race, could serve as a spoiler to Biden’s chances and ultimately boost Donald Trump, a theory that Manchin pushed back on.
It also raises questions about the future of No Labels, a group Manchin had aligned with. No Labels has been tossing around the idea of propping up a third-party candidate, and Manchin had long been their top choice. The group will now have to decide whether to back someone else, and more importantly, if they can find someone willing to run despite strong opposition.
Notable
- The effort to squash No Labels has been strong: Semafor reported back in December on a private call between a broad anti-No Labels coalition where they discussed the various ways they planned to stop the group from injecting a third-party candidate into the race.