What’s Happening:

Once upon a time, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin was a star in his home state. He was a moderate leader who opposed Joe Biden’s radical agenda. He even sided with Republicans to block devastating bills that could have upended our democracy.

But the man buckled last year when he supported Biden’s extreme “inflation” bill that raised taxes and increased spending.

Since then, he’s become enemy number one in his own state. And, guess what? Manchin is up for re-election next year. The man has served as senator for three terms. But one major commentator is saying that his time is up.

From The Hill:

Former Obama White House senior political adviser David Axelrod says Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is “dead man walking” in West Virginia, where the senior senator finds himself far behind in the polls ahead of the 2024 election.

Uh-oh. Joe Manchin might lose his re-election chances, as he’s trailing behind Republican Jim Justice by 22 points. So, many are wondering if he’ll take a drastic turn and go for a bigger post.

From The Hill:

Asked over the weekend whether a presidential bid is still possible, Manchin said, “You better have Plan B, because if Plan A shows we’re going to the far reaches of both sides, the far left and the far right…” referring to the unpopularity of President Biden and former President Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president.

Isn’t this interesting? With Manchin sure to lose re-election as a senator in West Virginia, he appears to be mulling a third-party presidential run in 2024. The Democrat blasted both Joe Biden and Donald Trump for being on the “far reaches of both sides.”

Will Manchin run against both of these men as a “moderate” alternative? From one point of view, Manchin has a better chance of running for president than running for re-election in West Virginia. His home state is deeply red.

But, as a national candidate, Manchin might be able to pull moderate voters away from the two parties. How that will affect the election, no one knows. But we can be assured that it will hurt Joe Biden more than the Republican candidate.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Manchin does next.

Key Takeaways:

• Joe Manchin is trailing in a recent re-election poll.
• He might pivot in 2024 and run for president as a third-party candidate.
• Manchin might run as a moderate to counter Joe Biden’s far-left agenda.

Source: The Hill