Senator Joe Manchin, who briefly considered making a run at the Democratic presidential nomination, now definitively says he is not.
“It’s a hard no,” Manchin said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
However, Manchin said he is not ready to embrace the candidacy of current Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she’s too far to the left politically and that there are other, better choices. Top names in the Democratic Party, including some political figures who might have been viable challengers to Harris, quickly moved to support her — and Democrats received millions of dollars in a brisk fundraising draw in the hours after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race.
“She’s too far to the left. She’s always been far to the left,” Manchin said. “This country is not where the leftwing and their hardcore, progressive base believes they are and where they’ve taken the Democratic Party.”
Harris, 59, is the first female vice president, first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. She was a U.S. Senator from California from 2017 to 2021 and served as attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. Before that, she was a prosecutor in California.
Manchin recounted Harris dropping out of the 2020 Democratic Primary and her role as vice president under Biden. “She’s basically been a good team player. OK, do you have any other ideas yourself? What happened to the border? What about all these progressive ideas? Why do you want to get rid of fracking? Why do you not think we need fossil fuel in the cleanest fashion until we have a new generation of technology from our fuel? There’s so many things,” Manchin said.
Manchin has been on a political journey over the past 24 hours. He went on several national Sunday morning news shows to call on Biden to drop out while serving out the final five months of his term — and encouraged runs by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, moderate Democratic chief executives of states surrounding West Virginia.
By evening, Shapiro had joined the Democrats rallying around Harris. Beshear joined him with an endorsement this morning. Each is being discussed as a potential vice presidential pick for Harris. Other potential vice presidential picks under early discussion include Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
As others endorsed Harris, Manchin acknowledged on “Talkline” that he got frustrated by the lack of political competition.
Citing sources close to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, CNN reported Sunday evening that Manchin was considering re-registering as a Democrat and throwing his hat into the ring to run for president. The Wall Street Journal similarly characterized Manchin as thinking of running. So did The Hill. And so did CBS News.
“I was so upset that no one had the courage to speak truth to power. Everyone fell in line because — ‘Well, here it is. President Biden has endorsed her, anointed her, and we have a coronation coming up.’ I’m thinking ‘Jesus Criminy, doesn’t anyone have any guts at all?’ Manchin recounted on statewide radio.
West Virginia’s Democratic Party chairman, Mike Pushkin, said Harris has already served as a key part of the administration and the Democratic ticket. “So to me, without hesitation, yeah, I support the nomination of vice president Kamala Harris,” Pushkin said today on “The Dave Allen Show” on 580 WCHS Radio.
Pushkin said Democrats are lining up behind Harris quickly because “she was the elected vice president, and that’s the role of the vice president — to step in if, God forbid, something should happen to the president.”
On Manchin’s thought process, Pushkin described respect and friendship — “and I think he’s going to do what he can to help what I would call the Democracy ticket.”
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, the Democratic nominee for governor of West Virginia, said on MetroNews “Talkline” that he supports a process that would include competition for Harris.
“I prefer to say that I prefer that I support having a deliberative and transparent process that Kamala Harris and whoever else is wanting to run for president be able to go through that deliberative and transparent process,” Williams said.
“I would like to have conversations from West Virginia to be able to say: Well, where do you stand on issues that affect rural America, rural states, rural communities, energy-related states. To talk to us about where she sees us — or whoever else would be in line.”
Williams said competition would make the Democratic presidential nominee stronger.
“Iron sharpens iron, and can’t have this go on forever, obviously” — but he advocated “having to actually have the conversation out into the field and be able to sharpen your messages of what’s going on and give states like West Virginia, Kentucky and other communities and states like ours — so where do you stand on these issues as it relates to rural America and Appalachia.”
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said today that if Biden is not up to the campaign then he should resign.
“We live in a dangerous world and deserve a commander in chief who is up for the rigors of the job. If President Biden feels that he is not capable of making it through the demands of a campaign, then how could he be capable of serving out the rest of his term as president?” Capito said in a statement distributed by her office.
Capito continued her statement with criticism of Harris representing a continuation of the administration’s policies.
“Make no mistake, Vice President Kamala Harris represents a continuation of the last four years of President Biden’s disastrous policies. Whether it’s her failed leadership on our out-of-control southern border or her deciding vote in passing the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that supercharged the skyrocketing inflation Americans still feel to this day, a Harris administration would be more of the same,” Capito stated.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia, released a statement saying the vice president should, under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution, declare that President Biden is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
“If Biden is incapable of running, then he is incapable of fulfilling the duties of the presidency,”Morrisey wrote in a letter addressed to Harris.
“Enough is enough. America deserves a leader who is at least mentally sound.”
Matthew Herridge, chairman of West Virginia’s Republican Party, said today he was not surprised by Biden’s decision to withdraw. He said he doesn’t see the Democratic Party as fully set on Harris yet. He suggested national Republicans will not have to change their strategy.
“Donald Trump has so much inertia right now. We’re not going to get our foot off the gas pedal in any way, but I really believe it does not matter this election who they put up. We feel very secure and strong,” Herridge said on “The Dave Allen Show.”
“It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to push very hard to make our case to the American people, but honestly I do not believe it matters who they put up. They do not have the caliber of person or even a bench that can compete with the Republican Party right now, so they’re in disarray.”