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West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin swatted away rumors that he was mulling a White House bid as a Democrat after President Joe Biden made the historic decision to leave the 2024 race.
“I’m not running for office,” Manchin told CBS Mornings on Monday, putting an end to reports that the independent senator was considering rejoining the Democrats to run for the nomination.
“I’m not going to be a candidate for president,” he continued. “I don’t need that in my life.”
Manchin’s announcement comes one day after he called for Biden to step aside from the 2024 race: “I came to the decision with a heavy heart that it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation.”
Later that day, Biden did — and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for president.
The West Virginia senator has previously said he is planning on retiring after this term is up. Manchin had switched his party affiliation from Democrat to independent in May — flirting with running a third party bid for president, but ultimately decided against it.
On Sunday, Manchin urged Biden to abandon his 2024 bid but also insisted that the incumbent president remain in office until the end of his term: “I want him to be the president in the last five months of this presidency of his term…to do what he can do is unite our country, to calm down the rhetoric and be able to focus attention to peace in the world.”
Manchin called Biden “one of the greatest leaders that we’ve had.”
After Biden dropped out of the race, a flood of Democratic lawmakers and donors came forward to endorse Harris.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear joined the ranks, telling MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday morning: “I am excited to fully endorse Vice President Harris for the next president of the United States. The VP is smart and strong which will make her a good president. But she’s also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president.”
“The contrast between her and those running on the other side couldn’t be clearer,” he said. As attorney general, Harris prosecuted rapists and domestic abusers, while Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance “insists that women should stay in abusive relationships” and calls “pregnancy arising from rape ‘inconventient,’” Beshear said.
“I’m going to do everything I can to support her,” he added.
Liberal political action committee ActBlue announced — just seven hours after Biden announced he was stepping aside — that it had raised a staggering $46.7 million, calling it “the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”
