Why Joe Manchin might not save himself even if he ditches the Democratic Party

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) might not be able to save his political future even if he were to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent, according to a poll shared Thursday.

The senator, who has not announced whether he will seek a tough reelection bid next year, has teased leaving the party for months over its increasingly left-leaning policies. Manchin could also be weighing a bid for the White House as part of a third-party ticket for the bipartisan group No Labels.

HOUSE SPEAKER RACE ENDORSEMENT LIVE TRACKER: WHO HAS BACKED WHO SO FAR?

“I would think very seriously about [leaving the party]. I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time. I haven’t made any decisions,” Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval in August. “I want to make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice. The brand has become so bad — the D brand and R brand. In West Virginia, the D brand because it’s [the] national brand. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington.”

If Manchin did seek reelection, the senator would face a tough challenge from Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) who has reached his term limit. The latest survey, first shared by Politico, found Justice leading Manchin 49 points to 43 points, with 8% still undecided and a 4.5% margin of error. The survey was conducted by GOP pollster the Tarrance Group.

Manchin, who is considered a centrist Democrat, has been highly critical of President Joe Biden’s administration, especially when it comes to energy policies and the Inflation Reduction Act that he helped create. He also recently dodged answering whether Biden was the best presidential candidate for Democrats, claiming he would be the party’s choice because he did not know of anyone else getting into the race.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The senator’s potential exit would make him the latest in a string of more conservative Democrats leaving a party that is trending even further to the left. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson left the Democrats for the Republican Party last month, and Manchin’s fellow senator, Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), also left the Democratic Party late last year to become an independent.

If the senator does leave the Democratic Party, he would still lose independent voters in the Senate race by 11 points, according to the poll, which was published Sept. 27, 2023.