By Steve Peoples and Michelle L. Price | Associated Press
NEW YORK — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced on Friday that he is not running for president, saying he didn’t want to be a “spoiler.”
“I will not be seeking a third-party run,” he said in a speech at West Virginia University. “I will not be involved in a presidential run. I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together.”
The speech was billed as part of a national listening tour Manchin announced when he decided not to seek another Senate term. He told the Morgantown audience that he had no interest in being “a deal-breaker, if you will, a spoiler, whatever you want to call it.”
“I just don’t think it’s the right time.”
The centrist Democrat who often bucked his party’s leadership had been considering a run for the presidency and had said he thought it would be clear by March if there was a path for a third-party candidate this year. He said in the speech that he thought a third-party bid might be viable at some point “but right now it’s really challenging.”
His decision comes as the leadership of No Labels, a national political movement that could offer an independent presidential ticket in 2024, has worked privately to identify serious candidates to represent the group in the general election. Manchin was viewed as one of the top prospects.
Manchin is not running for reelection in 2024. His Senate seat in a heavily Republican state is expected to be a prime pickup opportunity for the GOP.
Manchin, the only Democrat holding statewide office in West Virginia, has been at odds with members of his own party over his support for coal and other fossil fuels. With the Democrats holding a slim majority in the U.S. Senate, Manchin was a critical vote who wielded considerable influence to shape legislation and diluted much of President Joe Biden’s…
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