One Democratic strategist hopes for divergent futures for two defiant Democratic senators who are typically grouped together.
James Carville, who managed former President Bill Clinton’s first campaign for the White House, said Thursday that he would support a primary challenger for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema despite reaffirming his support for Sen. Joe Manchin.
“She’s not going to win a primary against Rep. Ruben Gallego, I’ll tell you that damn much. And I will personally volunteer to help him fundraise because I think we can keep that seat if he runs,” he said about Sinema in an interview with Vox’s Sean Illing.
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Despite the criticism for Sinema, the strategist (known as “the Ragin’ Cajun” for his Louisiana heritage) said he would support Manchin, the Arizona senator’s counterpart in West Virginia, if he ran again.
“Politics is about choices, and he’s up for reelection in 2024. If Manchin runs for reelection, I’ll do everything I can to help him because it’s either going to be Joe Manchin or Marsha Blackburn. It ain’t Joe Manchin or Ed Markey. You got to understand that. It’s really that damn simple,” he said.
Carville said that Manchin won a state where “not a single county has voted Democrat since 2008” for president.
In 2020, Biden won Arizona with 49.4% of the vote, the highest level for a Democratic candidate since 1964, according to 270toWin. Meanwhile, in West Virginia, Republicans have dominated in presidential elections since 2000. Trump carried the state with 68.6% of the vote in 2020, a swing of nearly 20 percentage points compared to when former President George W. Bush won the state in 2000 with 51.9% of the vote.
The two centrists often team up against their party in several votes, including earlier this month, when they held their ground to block proposed changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules.
Several Democrats have openly voiced their opposition to the two senators. On Jan. 18, Sen. Elizabeth Warren opened the door to supporting primary challengers for Manchin and Sinema, a highly unusual move for a sitting member of Congress. Democrats in Sinema’s own state also expressed their disapproval over her opposition to filibuster reform, with the Arizona Democratic Party issuing a censure resolution against her last week. Back in September, donors also lined up for the creation of the Primary Sinema PAC to utilize grassroots efforts to organize a viable challenger for Sinema.
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Carville has carved out a nuanced position as an elder statesman in the Democratic Party, supporting left-wing candidates while on occasion going against the party’s orthodoxy. In November, he urged Democrats not to stray into “woke” politics, which he said could cost them voters.
Both Sinema and Manchin will be up for reelection in 2024.
