Manchin gives indirect answer when asked if Biden is Democratic Party’s best 2024 candidate

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) did not directly say if he thinks President Joe Biden is the Democratic Party’s best candidate to win the 2024 election, saying he does not know who else is “willing to get into the race.”

Manchin’s comments come as Biden is seeking reelection, though Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Marianne Williamson, and Terrisa Bukovinac are also running to be the Democratic nominee. The question of whether Biden is the best candidate for Democrats comes as various concerns about him, including his age and his low approval rating in polling data, continue to persist throughout his presidency.

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“I don’t know who else is out there, who’s willing to get into the race,” Manchin said. “Until you have an open primary-type thing or you have challenges, you really don’t know.”

The West Virginia senator added that Biden is currently going to be “the choice” of the Democratic Party in regards to which candidate it rallies behind. He noted, however, that polling on Biden is “flipping back and forth,” citing polls that show a tight election between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Manchin was rumored to be launching his own run for president in the 2024 election as a third-party candidate, stating earlier this year he had been “thinking seriously” about becoming an independent.

Similarly, Kennedy Jr. is rumored to be considering leaving the Democratic primary and running for president in 2024 as a third-party candidate, which it’s expected he will announce on Monday during a visit to Philadelphia, according to a report. On social media, Kennedy Jr. released a video hinting at a “major announcement” that he would make on Monday, though he did not specify what the announcement would entail.

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Trump announced his run for president in the 2024 election last year and is still leading in the Republican Party’s primary race. The other candidates who are running in the primary include Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump winning the Republican Party’s 2024 primary race would set the stage for a potential rematch between him and Biden. The president leads Trump by just a thin margin in a hypothetical 2024 presidential election matchup, though most voters stated they do not want either as their president.