Over the past few decades, West Virginia’s political climate has unquestionably evolved, going from being a Blue to a Red state. Bill Clinton won the state by 13% in 1992. Twenty-plus years later, Donald Trump prevailed by over forty-two percent. In the state, there was only one Democrat still in office, but he is now resigning.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) declared on November 9 that he would not run for office again in 2024. The politician, who has had numerous run-ins with his party over the past three years, declared that he will instead try to bring people together in the center. He clarified that, in his opinion, the US is not as divided as Washington would have everyone believe. He declared that the ideals of family, freedom, democracy, and dignity are shared by all Americans and that he wished to retake the country from the political parties.
Manchin’s declaration coincides with straw polls that indicate he would lose to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) in a prospective 2024 Senate run. The well-liked state leader, who changed political parties during his first term from Democratic to Republican, received 63% of the vote in 2020 while running for reelection. In contrast, Manchin defeated Republican opponent Patrick Morrisey in 2018 by a margin of less than 3% of the vote.
Political analysts have been speculating about Manchin’s future for months due to his involvement with the newly formed political party No Labels as well as the fact that Justice is winning in the polls. The senator has spoken at the party’s events and supports it. For the 2024 election, No Labels is thinking of running a unity ticket with a Democrat and a Republican.
No Labels issued a statement praising Manchin for his efforts in resolving the nation’s most pressing issues, such as inflation, an unsafe border, unmanageable debt, and escalating foreign threats, following the senator’s announcement of his plans. The party declared that it will keep asking its members for feedback on whether to field a unity ticket and that it will decide early in the following year.
