Democrats trying to talk Manchin out of White House ambitions
Cami Mondeaux
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As Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) mulls a reelection bid, the West Virginia senator has kept members of his party on their toes as he openly flirts with a presidential bid, refusing to close any doors as he considers his next move.
Democrats have 23 Senate seats up for grabs in the 2024 cycle, setting the stage for a contentious election that could cost the party its one-seat majority. The stakes have put Manchin in an advantageous position as Democrats seek to keep the centrist Democrat happy as well as quash any plans for a White House run.
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“I have advised him against it. I think it would be a terrible idea,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) told Politico. “It would help Donald Trump.”
Manchin has not indicated whether he plans to seek a presidential bid. However, the centrist is considered to be a favored candidate for No Labels, an outside political group that has vowed to promote a third-party ticket if the 2024 election features a rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
The group maintains it has not chosen a prospective nominee, telling the Washington Examiner earlier this month it would not make such a decision until its nominating convention next year. But No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson did not rule out Manchin as the group’s top pick, telling Fox News it’s “too premature” to say.
“[Manchin] was at our launch in 2010,” Jacobson said. “He’s the honorary co-chair with Sen. Susan Collins of the organization, and he is a terrific legislator, and he stands for his politics. This is too premature. We have not made any decisions.”
Meanwhile, several Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans have denounced No Labels, arguing a third-party ticket would cost Biden the White House and pave the way for another Trump term. Some have even argued that a Manchin ticket would not only cost Democrats the White House but the Senate as well, noting the centrist senator is likely the party’s only chance to keep West Virginia’s seat blue.
With a total of 34 seats up for reelection in the Senate, Republicans only need to defend 11 to keep Democrats’ majority razor-thin. But if Republicans manage to win the White House in 2024, the party would only need to flip one seat in order to secure the majority.
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No Labels has rejected accusations it would spoil Biden’s chances of being reelected and said it would drop its efforts if Trump is not elected as the GOP nominee. The group pointed to its own internal polling that only shows a victory for a third-party candidate if Trump is in the race, vowing to exit the race entirely if there is no path to victory.
“What we’re doing is sticking to the plan we’ve had from the very beginning, which is: This is only worth doing if you think you can win,” Ryan Clancy, chief strategist for No Labels, told the Washington Examiner. “And today, the data is telling us it looks like it’d be a really steep road for an independent to win if it’s a Republican other than Trump.”