A CNN reporter managed to dig up a little potential bad news for Dems after asking Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin if he planned to switch parties. Eyes are on Manchin after Sen. Sinema flipped over to the Republican party. The two are better in line with conservative values and don’t comply with Biden’s liberal agenda.
Kyrsten Sinema, a senator from Arizona, declared her independence from the Democratic Party on Friday, December 9. She is keeping her current committee assignments and will continue to caucus with Senate Democrats. The action protects Sinema from a potential primary challenge from Rep. Ruben Gallego.
Manchin refused to rule out leaving the Democratic Party while speaking with reporters on Monday.
“I’ll look at all of these things. I’ll look at every circumstance, and I have no intention of doing anything right now. Whether I do something later I can’t tell you what the future is going to bring,” he said in response to a question from CNN’s Manu Raju.
“I’m not a Washington Democrat. I don’t know what else to tell you. … And if a Washington independent is — we’ll see what happens there. We’ll have to look. People are registering more for independent than any other party affiliation, they are sick and tired of it,” he continued.
Manchin: “I’m not a Washington Democrat. I don't know what else to tell you. … And if a Washington independent is — we'll see what happens there. We'll have to look. People are registering more for independent than any other party affiliation, they are sick and tired of it.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 12, 2022
Manchin, who represents the nation’s second-reddest state, is up for reelection in 2024. Republican Rep. Alex Mooney and Governor Jim Justice are both considering challenges to the two-term senator.
Since Justice’s election as governor of West Virginia in 2016, who won by over seven points, no other Democrat has won statewide office. In 2017, he switched parties.
Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Justice, both Republicans, have contacted Manchin about joining their party. Manchin, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, was one of only two Democrats to oppose legislation that would have made abortion legal up until the moment of birth and removed nurse and doctor conscientious objector safeguards. In a vote in January, Manchin and Sinema were the only Senate Democrats to vote against doing away with the filibuster.
