Manchin declines reelection bid, puts Senate Democrats in a bind

Sen. Joe Manchin III said Thursday that he will not seek reelection next year, giving up a West Virginia seat that almost certainly will fall to Republicans and boost their effort to take control of the upper chamber.

The 76-year-old Democrat has spent most of his 13 years in the political center of the Senate, acting as a brake on his party’s more liberal ambitions, but he was facing a tough reelection in a state that is now die-hard Republican.

In a video statement, Mr. Manchin said he would travel the country in search of “creating a movement to mobilize the middle,” though he did not directly address the prospect of mounting a third-party presidential run.

“After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” Mr. Manchin said.

“I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for reelection to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” he added.

His decision is a major blow to Democrats’ hopes of maintaining their one-seat majority in the Senate.

Democrats must defend seats in battleground states such as Nevada, Montana, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Ohio and Wisconsin to stave off a Republican takeover.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrat, said it will be more difficult for the party to keep its majority without Mr. Manchin.

“We have one less person on the team,” Mr. Merkley told The Washington Times. “That hurts.”

Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm was quick to celebrate the news.

“We like our odds in West Virginia,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines of Montana.

Gov. Jim Justice, a Democrat turned Republican, is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and leads Rep. Alex Mooney in the primary polls by double digits.

“Senator Joe Manchin and I have not always agreed on policy and politics, but we’re both lifelong West Virginians who love this state beyond belief, and I respect and thank him for his many years of public service,” Mr. Justice said in a statement.

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, insisted it has “multiple pathways to protect our Senate majority,” including by unseating Republicans up for reelection in the Republican strongholds of Texas and Florida.

“And our campaigns will be bolstered by a favorable issue set, like the GOP’s toxic agenda on abortion,” DSCC Communications Director David Bergstein posted on X.

Mr. Manchin won the seat vacated by the 2010 death of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a Democratic icon in West Virginia. He was governor at the time and had served as secretary of state and in the state Legislature.

He survived a reelection scare in 2018, winning with less than 50% of the vote, and was seen as the most vulnerable senator next year, though he repeatedly shot down entreaties to switch parties.

He emerged as the Senate’s key deal-maker in 2021, as Democrats claimed control of the 50-50 Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.

Mr. Manchin chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a powerful position that has frequently put him at odds with what he describes as President Biden’s “radical” climate change agenda. He was at the center of negotiations on Democrats’ tax-and-climate spending law known as the Inflation Reduction Act, forcing Mr. Biden to water down his ambitious plans but ultimately giving the president his most wide-ranging legislative victory.

His deal-making left him vulnerable to attacks from all sides.

“Joe Manchin watered down the Democratic economic agenda, made the cost of raising children higher and billionaire taxes lower, and now doesn’t even run for reelection,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “History, and West Virginians who are struggling, will not judge Joe Manchin well.”

Republicans said the Biden administration betrayed Mr. Manchin and worked to undermine much of what the senator had promised.

Mr. Manchin has criticized Mr. Biden over the law and shown his anger by threatening a lawsuit and even voting against some of the president’s nominees.

His frustrations with Mr. Biden have fueled his flirtation with a presidential run on a bipartisan ticket supported by the No Labels political group. In a statement Thursday, No Labels praised Mr. Manchin as a “tireless voice for America’s commonsense majority.”

“Regarding our No Labels Unity presidential ticket, we are gathering input from our members across the country to understand the kind of leaders they would like to see in the White House,” No Labels said. “As we have said from the beginning, we will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we will nominate a Unity presidential ticket and who will be on it.”

Despite their fraught relationship, Mr. Biden said he and Mr. Manchin “made real progress” in recent years on policies and praised the senator’s political career.

“For more than 40 years — as a state legislator, a secretary of state, a governor and a senator — Joe Manchin has dedicated himself to serving the people of his beloved West Virginia,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

Mr. Manchin’s video statement notably did not rule out a late-stage presidential run as he dealt punches to the extreme elements on both sides of the aisle. He blamed Washington for creating a toxic culture in American politics.

“Every incentive in Washington is designed to make our politics extreme,” Mr. Manchin said. “The growing divide between Democrats and Republicans is paralyzing Congress and worsening our nation’s problems. The majority of Americans are just plain worn out.”