Manchin says ‘anything possible’ for contest
W.Va. Democratic senator dangles potential independent presidential candidacy
ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat from West Virginia, said Friday that he’s considering “anything possible” as he continued to dangle the possibility of his entrance in the presidential race as an independent candidate.
However, at a “Politically Georgia” event livestreamed from a studio on the Georgia State University campus, Manchin told Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein that he would not run simply to be a spoiler to President Joe Biden’s reelection bid.
“I’d have to see a clear opening if I was going to be involved,” he said.
But in a show of confidence, the elected official who said he’s served 42 years in public office, said, “I’ve never been in any race that I can’t win.”
Manchin announced in November that he would not seek reelection as the prospect of a likely GOP challenger in a deeply Republican state grew stronger. Instead, the onetime two-term West Virginia governor said he would be “traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize and bring Americans together.”
Describing himself as “in the middle,” Manchin said he identifies as “fiscally conservative and socially compassionate.”
Manchin took questions from the audience, responding to one about the Supreme Court by expressing support for term limits for justices to prevent politics from influencing their decisions. Addressing the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas, Manchin said he supports a two-state solution to bring peace to the region, but he said he does not think Palestinians are willing to accept Israel’s right to exist.
Domestically, Manchin said he is “all in for nuclear” as a way to wean the country off fossil fuels. He said the industry learned a lot from construction of a new reactor at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle, the first such nuclear power reactor built in the United States in more than three decades. The project has suffered from numerous delays and billions in cost overruns.
While Manchin repeatedly dodged questions about a presidential run, surveys and public sentiment show there may be an appetite for a third-party candidate.
“They’re making you pick a side and want you to be as divided as you can,” he said. “We can have different ideas, but we’ve got to come together.”
That doesn’t mean those undecided voters would automatically shift toward a Manchin bid for the presidency. However, some experts believe he would be more likely to cut into Biden’s coalition rather than Trump’s.