Sen Joe Manchin continued to feed speculation about his political future by appearing at an event with No Labels as he weighs whether to make a third-party run for president.
The West Virginia Democrat appeared at an event on Monday night in New Hampshire, which holds one of the first presidential nominating contests and is a crucial swing state in the general election. No Labels, a centrist organisation, has pushed for a third-party candidate for president.
But some Democrats have feared that a No Labels-backed candidacy would siphon votes away from President Joe Biden and enable former president Donald Trump to win another term as president.
Mr Manchin, a conservative Democrat, has not yet indicated whether he would stage a third-party run for president or seek another term in the Senate. But he faces significant headwinds were he to run a in a presidential year in a state where every county voted for Mr Trump.
But he balked when asked if he would is seek higher office.
“I think people are putting the cart ahead of the horse,” he said. “We're here to make sure the American people have an option.”
Mr Manchin, who appeared with former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, a Republican who served as an ambassador in the Obama and Trump administrations, said he would not be a spoiler to Mr Biden’s presidency or cause Mr Trump to win.
“I’ve never been in any race I’ve ever spoiled,” he said. “I’ve been in races to win. And if I get in a race, I’m gonna win.”
Mr Manchin decried political polarisation, saying it was important to support protecting the US-Mexico border while also promoting worker visas as well as fiscal responsibility.
“You've got to fix the debt problem, and we're not talking about that,” he said. “When's the last time you've heard anyone talk about the debt?”
Mr Huntsman for his point brushed off concerns that a No Labels candidacy would cause Mr Trump to win.
“This is the latest talking point,” he said. “It's like the horse race. Forget about the issues. Forget about the importance of expanding and enhancing our democracy,”
Throughout the first two years of Mr Biden’s presidency when Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, Mr Manchin served as the swing vote in a 50-50 Senate. His opposition to Build Back Better, Democrats’ proposed social spending bill, ultimately killed the legislation.
Last year, he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resurrected talks that led to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. But since then, Mr Manchin has criticised the Biden administration’s implementation of the law. In addition, he’s begun to regularly oppose Mr Biden’s nominees, most recently Julie Su, his nominee for Secretary of Labour.
West Virginia Gov Jim Justice, a former friend of Mr Manchin, announced his candidacy to challenge the incumbent. He is heavily favoured to face Mr Manchin, himself a former governor, in the general election.
Mr Manchin has said he will decide his political future by the end of the year. Despite his indecision, he raised $424,485.52 in the most recent fundraising quarter from March to July and he has more than $10.7m in cash on hand.
