Sen. Joe Manchin to announce he won’t run for president, ending months of speculation

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) announced Friday that he will not run for president after months of flirting with a campaign that could have complicated the 2024 race for the White House.

Manchin said during a speech in West Virginia he “will not be involved in a presidential run” as he continues to focus on other ways to bring a divided country together. He also said he did not want to play the role of a spoiler as President Biden nears a likely rematch with former president Donald Trump.

“I just don’t think it’s the right time,” Manchin said. “Democracy is at stake right now.”

Manchin, a centrist Democrat who has relished his influence in a closely divided Senate, has stoked speculation for months that he could enter the presidential race as an independent or third-party candidate. He has aligned himself with No Labels, a bipartisan group that has been looking into fielding a possible centrist ticket.

Manchin’s flirtations have been a source of anxiety for Democrats as they look to a likely Biden-Trump rematch, already a close race in many battleground states.

The speculation about Manchin’s plans increased after he announced in November that he would not seek reelection, a blow to Democrats’ hopes of retaining their Senate majority. At the time, he said he would travel the country to gauge “interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”

Manchin’s daughter launched a political group, Americans Together, that has since helped organize his travel, including to early-voting states like New Hampshire.

A political institution in West Virginia, Manchin has held his Senate seat since 2010, previously serving as governor of the state. He has beaten the odds by winning the seat in the deeply red state, which went for Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020.

Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Alex Mooney (W.Va.) are now running in the Republican primary to succeed Manchin, a race the GOP is favored to win in November with Manchin retiring.

[Alaska Sen. Murkowski says she would prefer Manchin for president over Trump or Biden]