Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) said he is not running for president soon after reports floated that he was considering reregistering as a Democrat to contest Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination.
“I’m not intending to run for any political office,” Manchin said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “I made that very clear. I’m retiring.”
Manchin, who left the Democratic Party and became an independent senator in May, did call for a contested Democratic primary, however. Presently, only a small number of Democrats maintain that the party needs to have a more in-depth selection process and not nominate Harris right away. Manchin said he likes to be involved and that he speaks for the “majority of Americans who are in the middle like me.”
He said he thinks voters want to see a primary happen.
“I was hoping with the decision that President Biden that there would be a primary … that we could find out the cream of the crop of the new generation,” he said.
The senator then listed out Govs. Roy Cooper (D-NC), Andy Beshear (D-KY), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) as candidates.
Harris has garnered President Joe Biden’s campaign war chest and numerous political endorsements in the hours after the president stepped down — a sign that she may be a shoo-in for the nomination without much of a competitive process.
Manchin said he doesn’t think there is going to be “any type of a primary process.” He also declined to endorse Harris, instead saying he wants to see what her platform is.
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The West Virginia politician praised Biden, saying he made “the right decision” in stepping down, and the senator said he believes Biden can now focus on his remaining time in office.
“He has a chance now to spend 100% of his time trying to get peace in the Middle East, trying to basically solidify Ukraine’s position to win freedom, and also to be able to show the rest of the world how the super power transfers their power,” Manchin said.
