by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is keeping his colleagues guessing about his political future.
The West Virginia Democrat on Monday took the stage at a No Labels event in New Hampshire, where he spoke about his thoughts on the state of politics, and left political observers wondering whether he’ll run for another Senate term in 2024 or challenge President Biden as a third-party presidential candidate.
The Washington-based advocacy organization is looking to recruit a Democrat and a Republican to form a “unity” presidential ticket in 2024 — which could upend the 2024 presidential race, currently likely to be a rematch between Biden and former President Trump.
Manchin in interviews continues to entertain a third-party presidential run, which means Democrats fret about holding the Senate majority and whether Manchin, if he opts to become a third-party presidential contender, would siphon votes away from Biden and hand the White House to a Republican in 2025.
Manchin said Monday he was in New Hampshire to reach out to voters who are fed up with a hyperpartisan status quo. He defended No Labels’s plans to secure a third-party presidential ticket, arguing it would not be a “spoiler” (WMUR).
The West Virginia centrist said the two major political parties have “receded” to the “extreme” edges of the political spectrum.
 We’re here to make sure that the American people have an option, and the option is can you move the political parties off their respective sides — they’ve gone too far right and too far left,” he said. “This is not about me or anybody else. It’s about two parties that have gone to their respective side, the extreme right and extreme left, and the middle has been left behind. There’s no voice for the middle.” |
The event also featured former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who sought the 2012 GOP presidential nomination and told NBC News he has “no plans at this point” to run on a third-party ticket in 2024.
No Labels founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson told NBC News that the group is near its fundraising goal of $70 million, which will go toward its efforts to gain ballot access for its hypothetical presidential ticket in all 50 states. No Labels is scheduled to hold a convention next April in Dallas, where it will formally nominate its ticket. No Labels has described its efforts as an “insurance policy” in the 2024 presidential election, vowing to drop its bid if either party manages to provide a candidate whom centrist voters can accept.
As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, Manchin only raised $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2023, giving him $10.7 million in cash on hand. While that number is impressive for West Virginia, it falls far short of what would be needed for a presidential campaign. The Biden-Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the combined Biden Victory Fund raked in $72 million in the second quarter.
Mother Jones: No Labels says it’s not a political party. But it’s setting up state parties. Democrats and Never-Trump GOPers are worried about the group’s 2024 plans.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has sparked division in his conference by embracing the right-wing drive to try to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland, among other administration officials, write The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Rebecca Beitsch. In a year where the GOP has been most steadily focused on possible impeachments of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or Biden, McCarthy often has been the voice urging the conference to move patiently and deliberately.
But he has shown more vigor when eyeing Garland, an official leading an agency often derided by the GOP but a figure less frequently cited by the party’s members who are most keen on impeachment. Some have questioned whether there is a legal basis for impeaching Garland, while others have pointed to different cabinet secretaries who should be reviewed first.
“I don’t know of a chargeable crime,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told The Hill.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will be interviewed today on CNN, his first discussion with a major news organization other than Fox News as he looks to reset his campaign amid signs of weakness in the polls (The Hill).
2024 politics roundup: Who’s in the first GOP debate next month? Here’s a rundown of candidates who qualify (USA Today). … Biden’s reelection campaign adds three familiar allies to leadership roles: Rufus Gifford, Cedric Richmond and Chris Korge (CNBC). … Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Democratic presidential bid has attracted campaign cash from Silicon Valley money men, who love contrarians (The Wall Street Journal)… Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has released a conservative pool of Supreme Court picks (NBC News). … Bob Vander Plaats, the Iowa evangelical leader with a tendency for backing the state’s Republican presidential primary winner, is urging his party to rally behind a single challenger to Trump (The Daily Beast).
Trump world: Today’s courtroom pretrial conference to discuss procedures for handling classified information five weeks after Trump’s federal indictment will represent the first back-and-forth in the case handled by District Judge Aileen Cannon. It could offer clues about how she weighs a schedule for Trump’s trial as he campaigns for president. Trump is pushing for after next year’s election; the Justice Department proposed Dec. 11 (The Associated Press). … The Georgia Supreme Court Monday declined to take up an effort from Trump to quash an investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state (The Hill) … The former president and his allies are forging a 2025 plan to expand presidential power and to limit the independence of federal agencies if he’s elected (The New York Times). … Trump blamed former Cabinet members during a Fox News broadcast Sunday with Maria Bartiromo for his failure as president to drain “the swamp,” one of his election pledges. Over the weekend, he called former Attorney General William Barr “weak and pathetic.” He described fired former Defense Secretary Mark Esper as “incompetent.” Both men publicly split with Trump during his presidency with criticism about his decision making.
