Posted on 02/27/2023 5:18:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind
For months, political observers and strategists have been keeping their eyes and ears wide open, hoping to find out two big things about the 2024 Senate race in West Virginia.
The first and biggest question they have: Will Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin run for reelection?
The second most important question: Is Republican Gov. Jim Justice, a supposed political ally of Manchin’s, going to throw his hat into the ring in a potential challenge to Manchin should he go for another term?
Both Manchin and Justice have been extremely cagey about the issue, with Justice recently indicating he’d have an answer to the question after March 11, which is the end of the latest West Virginia legislative session.
And during an interview with Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo, not only did Manchin not rule out a possible run for president in 2024 but he remained evasive on whether he’d run for reelection to the Senate. Especially noteworthy was when Manchin would not say whether or not he still “identified” as a Democrat:
Joe Manchin on whether he still identifies as a Democrat: "I identify as an American." pic.twitter.com/QsaAuuLeud
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 27, 2023
Considering that West Virginia has trended redder and redder in recent election cycles (Donald Trump won the state handily in 2016 and again in 2020), Manchin has good reason to run away from the “Democrat” label – especially as Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) periodically dangles the “party switch” carrot in front of Manchin.
But though it’s pretty obvious that both Manchin and Justice are “feeling each other out” in an effort to see who blinks first, Manchin appears to be the one fretting the most over how a match-up between him and Justice would play out because as it turns out, Manchin is fearful of going out a “loser” whose bag of tricks has finally run out:
Like Biden, Manchin believes he’s the best person to beat this Trump-y character [Justice], and he’s probably right. But he also knows there’s a good chance he could lose: a poll for Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund shows Manchin trailing Justice by 10 points in a head-to-head. If Trump wins the G.O.P. nomination, he’ll likely bolster Justice, too. Trump won West Virginia by 39 points in 2020 and he’ll almost certainly confer support down the ballot. “He doesn’t want to go out a loser,” said a source close to Manchin. “He’s paying very close attention to what Justice does.”
[…]
A senior Senate source said that Manchin has changed his mind multiple times about whether or not he will run. “He’s more wishy-washy than a car wash,” the source said. “For all of the problems he’s caused, he’s a political anomaly and a real asset to Democrats.”
In other words, despite Manchin continuously telling the media that he wants to do “what’s best for West Virginians” (with that “best” thing in his view being for Manchin to stay in office for the foreseeable future) in the end, what Joe Manchin is most worried about is, well, Joe Manchin’s ego and legacy, and after the chickens came home to roost for Manchin over the bogusly-named “Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin might just be on the verge of bowing out gracefully to avoid voters showing him at the ballot box exactly how they feel over his betrayal.
As I’ve said before, the stage is being set for a mighty fall for Joe Manchin regardless of who his GOP opponent may be (assuming he runs again). And if all of this bears out in 2024 – or if he decides to retire at the end of this term, he will have no one to blame for his political downfall but himself.
Related: Democrats Hardest Hit as Joe Biden’s 2024 Campaign Strategy Emerges
We don’t want this clown in the GOP.
He would be another Romney or Thune.
He needs to stay right where he is.
That POS cannot be trusted any further than he can be thrown.
A dem is a dem to the core, and at that core is “Party über alles.”
Until he quits pushing the dumblecrat bills over the finish line,he is and will always be a dumblecrat. And a speedier one too.
He won his election in 2018 by only 3%, and he got less than 50% of the vote. Since then every other statewide office in W.VA has gone to Republicans. Trump won W.VA. in 2020 by nearly 40 points. Manchin is literally the last Democrat in a statewide office still standing in W.VA., and everyone can see the writing on the wall.
Too gullible. Schumer bum-effed him on a pipeline in West Virginia which was supposed to be a reach-around for voting for a porkulous bill. I think Schumer put a “kick me” sign on Manchin’s back.
Too late to switch parties. We’d welcome him even as a rino. He’s 70+ y/o. Retire and he’s honored. Run as a rat and he’s got a fight-not at his age. We need the seat for 12 years. A republican Mancin or Justice(he’s long on tooth) may be all we can get. The real issue is getting rid of Capito when the time comes-sooner there better.
Actually, worse. If you look at his ACU ratings, Manchin is lower than those two, Collins, and Murkowski.
Shows the myth of the moderate Democrat when the "best" Democrat is worse than the worst Republican RINOs.
I hope Joe runs for re-election as a democrat. Such would ensure his massive defeat by a conservative republican. If he switches parties to republican he “might win.” That would give us a Romney type republican. However, if he switches parties I much doubt he would win the republican primary.
Joe Manchin is political DEAD MEAT!
All he has to do is vote against insanity.
Manchin has always proudly posed on top of the fence and has never lit on the right anytime he was needed to pass some extreme left wing bilge.
Let him join the GOP as long as he proclaims ‘GOP uber alles’
manchin is just another evil democrat.
Joe, you are garbage pal and to good folks of West Virginia can see through your b.s.
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