Manchin abandons Democratic party, registers ‘no party affiliation’
With Manchin's switch to independent, no Democrat is representing West Virginia for the first time since 1923. Rumors are swirling on whether Manchin will run a third-party campaign for governor.
Charleston, W.Va. – Senator Joe Manchin changed his party registration from Democratic to ‘no party affiliation’ at the West Virginia State Capitol on Friday. This comes after “rumors” in recent weeks that Manchin was being courted to run for governor against Republican nominee Patrick Morrisey.
In a statement following his party change, Manchin said, “Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground.” He said his decision came to “stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party.”
Manchin said he “[looks] forward to working with you in the future. I look forward to being involved in trying to help people understand how we can fix a broken system that the political parties have taken control of.”
The timing of Manchin’s decision to switch political parties is intriguing.
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump was convicted of thirty-four felony charges–a decision Republicans have called political, a “show trial”, and biased. The change comes just one day before a state June 1 deadline to change party affiliation in time to run for office in November. Independent candidates have until August 1 to file to run for governor.
Manchin served as governor from 2005 to 2010, before replacing the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd.
At a University of Charleston event on May 29, Manchin addressed rumors of a potential run for governor. “My support is with Steve Williams [Mayor of Huntington and Democratic nominee for governor]. I know how good he is. I know how competent he is.” When asked if he had thoughts about a future run, Manchin said his thoughts were focused on uniting the country.
Manchin’s decision to quit the party means that no Democrat represents West Virginia in Congress–the first time this has occurred since 1923.
Manchin joins Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona)–who left the Democratic party in 2022–Angus King (I-Maine), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), as an independent member of the U.S. Senate. Democrats now control just 47 seats, but retain a slim 51 seat majority with the four independents caucusing with the party.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott (D) will face Governor Jim Justice (R) on November 5 to replace Manchin in the Senate. Manchin endorsed Elliott in the primary race.