Dems Fear This Potential Third-Party Presidential Candidate Could Crush Biden's Re-Election Hopes

The danger of a potential Manchin presidential run is twofold for Democrats, as they cannot afford to have a spoiler siphon votes away from Biden, and they also have no reliable candidate to prevent Manchin's Senate seat from falling to Republicans.

Several Democratic senators have advised Manchin against running for President, including Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who spoke with Manchin about the issue this spring. Hickenlooper told Politico that he received an evasive response from the West Virginia senator. "I have advised him against it. I think it would be a terrible idea," Hickenlooper said. "It would help Donald Trump." Senator Jon Tester of Montana echoed Hickenlooper's concerns, saying, "it would be bad for the country if Joe didn't run for U.S. Senate."

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Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia appealed to Manchin's pride in a statement to the outlet, suggesting Manchin would not back down from the fight to defend his Senate seat against the likely Republican challenger, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. "My gut tells me that that's not going to happen. And my gut tells me there's still a really good likelihood that Joe's gonna run for re-election. And we need him, too," Kaine said. "If Gov. Justice thinks he's gonna sweep Joe Manchin aside, I know that Joe Manchin is like, 'Are you kidding me? No way.'"

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June 22, 2023

Despite these concerns, Manchin has refused to rule out the possibility of a presidential run in interviews and conversations with fellow Democrats. "Then how did [Ross] Perot get Bill Clinton elected?" Manchin asked in an interview with Politico when confronted with the assumption that he would serve as a spoiler. "Everybody's getting so worked up and scared to death, and we're a year and a half away," he added. "Is there any alternative? Is there anything that we can do to bring both the Democrat and Republican Party back to centrist policy?"

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Manchin last refused to rule out the move in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" earlier this month. Host Shannon Bream grilled Manchin on reports that he may align with the "No Labels" group to fund a campaign. "Not ruling anything in, not ruling anything out," he replied. Democrats are concerned that a Manchin presidential run could damage their chances of retaining the White House and the Senate, and they are urging him to focus on his Senate seat.