Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) potential presidential bid may not just spoil the Senate Democrats’ chances of keeping the majority; many Democrats now worry that it may spoil the election in favor of former President Donald Trump.
“I think it would be very, very unfortunate if Joe Manchin decided to do that,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said of Manchin’s possible presidential bid.
“I know he’s a supporter of President Biden and has been an important person here in the U.S. Senate in terms of getting things done. And he knows that if he were to step in [to the race] that it would make it much more likely Donald Trump would be president again, and I know Joe Manchin doesn’t want that,” she added.
In early November, Manchin announced he would not seek reelection. Instead, he said he will see if it is viable to run as a potential third-party candidate.
“But what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out, seeing if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” Manchin said in a video announcing he retirement from the Senate.
