It’s looking like Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin will be a very powerful man in the 117th Congress. He knows it, too.

Manchin has been running a news media blitz in recent days, so much that you would think he is up for reelection next week. He isn’t, not until 2024, in fact, but he is clearly worried about his party and wants to leverage his own position as the last true moderate Democrat in the Senate.