West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has said that he is “absolutely” considering running for president after announcing that he will not seek reelection to the senate.
The senator, who is widely considered to be more centrist than President Joe Biden, said that he will “do anything I can to help my country.”
Manchin discussed his plan with NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired on Wednesday.
Sen. Joe Manchin says he “absolutely” would consider running for president in 2024:
“I’m totally, absolutely scared to death that Donald Trump would become president again.”
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/PsiBH4vQ0K
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) November 15, 2023
“Are you considering running for president?” host Kristen Welker asked.
“I will do anything I can to help my country, and you’re saying, ‘Does that mean you would consider it?’ Absolutely. Every American should consider it if they’re in a position to help save the country,” Manchin replied.
Manchin said that he is “totally, absolutely scared to death” of former President Donald Trump winning a second term. The Republican primary frontrunner currently leads Biden in the polls.
The senator said that he is afraid Biden has been “pushed too far to the left.”
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure, to mobilize that moderate, sensible, commonsense middle,” Manchin said.
Manchin announced that he will not be seeking reelection last week, which has worried his party as he is a rare popular Democrat in the red state.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is running for his seat, with Trump’s endorsement.
In July, Manchin had floated running as a third-party contender under the political organization called “No Labels” — and claimed that if he did it, he would win.
The organization has said that they plan to announce whether or not they will run a ticket by Super Tuesday next year, but has also said that they do not intend to run spoilers — something which Democrats have been consistently worried about with the organization.
Speaking to the supporters in Manchester, Manchin asserted that he will not be a spoiler, but that he will win.
“I’ve never spoiled a race,” Manchin said. “If I get into the race, I’m going to win.”
