Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a longtime moderate Democrat, announced on Friday that he is registering as an independent. This move comes after Manchin declared last year that he would not seek reelection in the deeply conservative state, potentially paving the way for a Republican to capture the Senate seat. Manchin’s decision to register as an independent raises new questions about his political future and aspirations.
“Our national politics are broken, and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground,” Manchin, a pivotal swing vote in the Senate, said in a statement. “To stay true to myself and remain committed to putting country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.”
Should Manchin decide to run for Senate or governor, he has until August 1 to file a statement of candidacy and gather the approximately 8,000 signatures required to appear on the ballot.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer approached Manchin about running for reelection as an independent. At the time, Manchin described this as a “long, long, long-shot scenario” and did not anticipate running. However, he did not entirely rule out the possibility, stating, “I don’t know if anything in Washington, DC, is 100%.”
A spokesperson for Manchin confirmed that he will continue to caucus with Democrats in the Senate. Other senators registered as independents who caucus with Senate Democrats include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Angus King of Maine, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin’s shift to independent status underscores his longstanding criticism of the hyper-partisan nature of current U.S. politics and his desire to seek common ground beyond party lines.