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Oops, he did it, again.
That “he” being West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, and the “oops” being the attention-adoring, often contrarian senator once again teasing a third-party run for the 2024 presidential election.
Manchin being Manchin, he told reporters on Tuesday — the day of the highly anticipated (in some quarters) New Hampshire presidential primary (see related articles at the bottom)— that voters are looking for options other than embattled President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Super Tuesday pretty much confirms whatever is going to happen, what we believe will happen, and we’ll see where we go from there.
But people are looking for options, and we’re going to be looking at that, too. Whether it’s me or whoever it may be, I think there’s going to be options available if it goes down the way it’s going down.
See what he did, there?
“Whether it’s me or whoever it may be…” Yep, he left himself an out — just like he always does.
Manchin announced in November 2023 that he would not seek reelection in 2024. The mercurial Democrat then started a nationwide campaign called “Americans Together,” which claims its goal is to unite the country’s moderate voters against “extremism.”
The campaign website states:
We stand against extremism in politics. It has taken over our political system and taken away our voice. As proud Americans, we agree on more than we disagree. We demand that our politicians put country before party to get things done. Enough is enough.
Okay, so that’s a reasonable, albeit “vanilla-ish,” take that I suspect a majority of Americans share — particularly given that one extreme views the other as “extreme,” but not itself. That said, specifics matter, and Joe Manchin has been long on teases but short on specifics.
Incidentally, Democrat lawmakers shudder at the thought of a Manchin third-party bid, believing that if he does enter the race in a substantial way, he will hand the election to Trump. As I reported on Tuesday in an unrelated article, the Democrat Party appears to have a valid reason to worry about a Manchin bid.
The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll showed Trump’s lead over Biden widening when independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was added to a hypothetical 2024 ballot, and widening further when independent candidate Cornel West and the Green Party’s Jill Stein were added to the mix —boosting Trump’s margin over Biden to 11 points. So it stands to reason that a Manchin candidacy would help Trump — and hurt Biden — even more. The question is…
Will Manchin Pull the Trigger?
My gut tells me no. In the end, Joe Manchin won’t enter the race. Just like he left himself an easy out in his statement earlier in the article, he’ll hem and haw, and whine about “extremism” on both sides of the political spectrum — then return to the private sector in January 2025.
Oh, but he’ll be readily available for cable news outlet interviews, of course.
SEE MORE:
In New Hampshire, Trump Touts His Victory, Calls Out Haley as ‘an Imposter’
VIDEO: Nikki Haley Congratulates Donald Trump on NH GOP Primary Win, Updates Supporters on Her Plans
CNN Exit Polls Show the Stunning Difference Between Who Voted for Trump and Haley in ‘GOP’ Primary
