Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) political and professional future is up in the air after he announced he won’t be on the ballot in November for his coveted Senate seat or as an independent presidential candidate. 

The West Virginia senator said when announcing his plans not to seek reelection last November that he planned to travel the country in the hope of being a unifier, sparking discussions of a possible challenge to President Joe Biden. His subsequent visits to early-voting states and refusal to rule out a presidential bid only furthered speculation that he intended to run as an independent.