By Emily Jacobs, Congressional Reporter. Media: Washingtonexaminer
Fresh off his announcement that he wouldn’t seek a third term in his coveted Senate seat next year, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is taking his show on the road.
Manchin, who was widely viewed as the most vulnerable incumbent in the Senate this cycle, said on Thursday that he would travel the country in hopes of unifying the nation’s divided political wings instead of running for reelection. That decision, which followed months of speculation about Manchin’s political future, prompted fresh questions about the possibility of his 2024 plans including a presidential bid.
The West Virginia Democrat wasted no time adding fuel to that fire, appearing at an event focused on political civility in the swing state of Georgia on Friday.
The event was organized to celebrate the launch of the University of Georgia’s Isakson Symposium on Political Civility, named for the late Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican with a bipartisan legacy.
Manchin and former GOP Sen. Roy Blunt praised Isakson’s commitment to reaching across the aisle and searching for common political ground, something the outgoing senator has cited as a reason to bow out of what would’ve been an expensive and competitive reelection bid.
“I didn’t get involved in politics because of party affiliation,” he said at the event. “I got involved in the political process because I wanted to change things and do things. In our system of government, in our democracy, you have a duopoly, so you only have two paths really.”
Manchin demurred when asked on stage about what his decision to not run for reelection meant for his 2024 plans, though he said in an interview afterward that “I’m so concerned about our country, my quest is: How do we save the nation? Whether it’s me or anybody else, how do we get involved? Don’t get pushed to the far left or the far right. Don’t let hatred infiltrate.”
“It will not change in Washington,” he continued. “If you want a change, it’s going to change here in Georgia, in Athens, and everywhere else in America.”
The speech and Manchin’s subsequent comments indicate that he does not appear to be leaving political life, even if he is walking away from his Senate seat. Manchin has fiercely defended plans from the centrist group No Labels to create a third-party presidential ticket amid sustained speculation that he could be their nominee.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a centrist Republican, said early Thursday that No Labels would reach a decision about running someone in the 2024 contest around Super Tuesday, which takes place on March 5.
For its part, No Labels praised Manchin as a “tireless voice for America’s commonsense majority” in reaction to his Thursday announcement.
“Regarding our No Labels Unity presidential ticket, we are gathering input from our members across the country to understand the kind of leaders they would like to see in the White House,” it continued. “As we have said from the beginning, we will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we will nominate a Unity presidential ticket and who will be on it.”
Manchin has been associated with No Labels for over a decade. Those ties are not as easily documented because the group operates as a nonprofit rather than a standard political party, allowing for them to not disclose their donor network.
Still, the group is currently working on getting on the ballot in a dozen states. Democrats have largely slammed the effort, arguing a bipartisan ticket would likely hand the 2024 race to former President Donald Trump. Manchin and No Labels have separately said that they would not take any actions that return Trump to the White House.
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