Manchin Is “Thinking Seriously” About Ditching Dems

West Virginia’s Metro News reports:

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) says he is “thinking seriously” about leaving the Democratic Party and declaring himself an Independent before the 2024 election, when he will have to decide whether to run for a fourth Senate term or wage a third-party bid for president.

Manchin, who earlier this year described himself as an independent Democrat, told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval Thursday that the Democratic brand has “become so bad.”

“You’ve heard me say a million times I’m not a Washington Democrat,” he said. Pressed by Kercheval, the host of “Talkline” on West Virginia Metro News, whether he’s really serious about becoming an Independent, Manchin said, “I would think very seriously about that.”

Read the full article.

Manchin tells @HoppyKercheval he is “thinking seriously” about becoming an Independent.

“I’ve been thinking seriously about that for quite some time.”

— Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) August 10, 2023

More here, w @lizbrownkaiser:https://t.co/5vYCkRjEKN

— Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) August 10, 2023