Sen. Joe Manchin has been courting top-level political donors in recent weeks while remaining coy about running for another term representing West Virginia, stoking speculation he might wage a third-party challenge in the 2024 presidential race that could siphon Democrat votes from Joe Biden.
“There are a number of conservatives who have spent time with Sen. Manchin. They were actually hoping he would switch to the Republican Party,” one Manchin adviser said. “Now the senator hasn’t said this but it’s been suggested by others that he might have (switched) if Mitch McConnell wasn’t the GOP leader. An independent run might be the next best thing.”
Manchin fueled the speculation by appearing on NBC’s “Meet The Press” last Sunday, pointedly refusing to rule out a presidential run, quoting Abraham Lincoln and invoking the need for unity.
Spoiler Joe?
