U.S. Senator Manchin speech stokes speculation of White House run
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[July 17, 2023]
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Maverick Democratic Senator Joe Manchin on Monday
is set to address a bipartisan group in New Hampshire, a critical
early-voting state in the 2024 presidential primary elections, feeding
speculation that he could be weighing a third-party candidacy.
The former West Virginia governor, first elected to the U.S. Senate in
2010, will speak to the "No Labels" organization promoting the
possibility of backing a third-party candidate.
Manchin, 75, is arguably the most conservative Democratic senator. He
has told reporters that he will wait until late this year before
announcing whether he will seek re-election to his U.S. Senate seat
representing West Virginia.
Should Manchin seek another term, he would likely face a serious
challenge from Governor Jim Justice who is seeking the Republican Party
nomination in the Senate race. The state has been leaning heavily
Republican, having overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and
2020.
Meanwhile, Manchin has not swatted away reporters' questions over
whether he might consider what would be a long-shot run for the White
House as an independent candidate.
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"It is clear that most Americans are exceedingly frustrated by the
growing divide in our political parties and toxic political rhetoric
from our elected leaders," Manchin said in a No Labels statement last
week detailing Monday's town hall event at Saint Anselm College in
Manchester.
Trump, a 77-year-old former president, leads a crowded field of
Republican presidential aspirants and many voters express worries about
80-year-old President Joe Biden seeking a second term. But speculation
of an independent candidate entering the race generates heartburn among
Democratic strategists who want the incumbent re-elected.
Opinion polling shows that neither Democrats nor Republicans are
thrilled with their likeliest 2024 White House candidates, with four in
ten Republicans telling a May Reuters/Ipsos poll that they think Trump
should not run again in 2024, and a similar number of Democrats citing a
similar view on Biden.
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![](../images/071723PIX/news_x46.jpg)
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and
other U.S senators unveil legislation that would allow the Biden
administration to "ban or prohibit" foreign technology products such
as the Chinese-owned video app TikTok during a news conference on
Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Bonnie
Cash/File Photo
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On Sunday, No Labels co-chair Joe Lieberman said his group will not
field a candidate in 2024 if polling showed that doing so would help
elect the Democratic or Republican presidential nominee.
"We're not in this to be spoilers," Lieberman said in an interview
with ABC's "This Week" program.
With more than a decade in Congress, Manchin at times has
complicated legislative initiatives being pushed by his party
leaders. But Democratic leaders have treaded softly as Manchin also
has been key to the party holding onto its Senate majority.
Since the start of Biden's presidency in 2021, Manchin has done
battle over Democrats' drive to expand a child tax credit aimed at
raising poor families out of poverty and insisted on relaxed
permitting rules for fossil fuel energy projects, which would
benefit West Virginia.
That has enraged progressives pushing for government policies
encouraging a phasing out of oil, natural gas and coal due to
climate concerns.
Democrats hold majority control of the Senate by a narrow 51-49
margin. The 2024 Senate races present the party with an uphill
battle to hold that control, given challenging races projected in
Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states.
The election takes place on Nov. 5, 2024.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Howard
Goller)
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