Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reportedly remains interested in launching a 2024 presidential bid on a “No Labels” ticket if President Joe Biden, 81, has a “health scare.”
If he enters the race, Manchin would siphon votes from Biden, potentially dooming the president’s reelection campaign.
Democrats have raised concerns for months about Biden’s 2024 chances due to poor polling about his age and physical stamina:
- Redfield & Wilton Strategies: A majority of Democrats are “concerned” about Biden’s ability.
- YouGov: Fifty-five percent say Biden’s health and age “severely” limit his ability to do the job.
- NBC News: Most registered voters have “major” concerns about Biden’s age and health.
Manchin acknowledged he has a role as a national icon in the “fiscally responsible and socially compassionate” middle, CNN reported Monday, but he would only enter the race if the president experienced a “health scare” that “could give him an opening to run as an independent this year.”
The No Labels ticket, an establishment bipartisan group, set a mid-March deadline around Super Tuesday for Manchin to decide on a presidential run. That leaves about one and a half months for him to make up his mind. No Labels leaders told CNN they do not know if the retiring West Virginia senator will run.
Manchin is not pleased with many of Biden’s fiscal and energy policies and asked the White House for a meeting to speak with the president about the issues in hopes of pulling him to the middle, Breitbart News reported. The White House refused the meeting, CNN reported, but “without risking riling him up by going to him directly.”
Biden’s aides reportedly know Manchin is a tremendous threat to his reelection campaign and fear the Democrat senator warning voters about Biden’s far-left policy positions.
Manchin previously expressed hesitancy about entering the race simply to spoil Biden’s reelection but noted that a lot can change during an election cycle. “Let me just say I have never been a spoiler, nor will I ever be a spoiler on any election,” Manchin told Fox News. “If I’m involved, I’m involved to win. But to be a spoiler for the sake of throwing the election one way or the other, I would never do.”
“For any third-party attempt, it would define itself by, let’s say, Super Tuesday. If there’s going to be any movement whatsoever,” he said. “So we’ll just see where we are at that point in time. Right now, both parties seem to have a hard time with the candidates.”
“I think you start looking after Super Tuesday to find out what the lay of the land is going to be. A lot can change in the next two months. So let’s wait and see,” he added.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
