Critical Democrat Announces He Will NOT Seek Re-Election

Huge news has broken from the state of West Virginia.

Democrat U.S. Senator Joe Manchin has announced he will not seek re-election.

Ina new statement Manchin shared “To the West Virginians who have put their trust in me and fought side by side to make our state better – it has been an honor of my life to serve you. Thank you.”

He continued “After months of deliberation and long conversation with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I’ve accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia. I’ve made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate.”

Watch Manchin here:

To the West Virginians who have put their trust in me and fought side by side to make our state better – it has been an honor of my life to serve you. Thank you. My statement on my political future: pic.twitter.com/dz8JuXAyTL

— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 9, 2023

Fox News had more on the story:

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Thursday he would not seek re-election to the Senate.

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“When America is at her best, we get things done by putting country before party, working across the aisle, and finding common ground. Many times this approach has landed me in hot water, but the fight to unite has been well worth it,” he said in a video posted on X.

“After months of deliberation and long conversation with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I’ve accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia. I’ve made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate,” he added.

Manchin said he would instead be focusing on traveling the country to gauge “interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” appearing to reference a possible third-party presidential run.

“To the West Virginians who have put their trust in me and fought side by side to make our state better – it has been an honor of my life to serve you. Thank you,” he said.

🚨 JUST IN: Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia WILL NOT be seeking re-election in 2024

The current front runner to replace him is former GOP Governor Jim Justice, which would flip the Senate seat from blue to red

This is GREAT news for the GOP in 2024 pic.twitter.com/3hf30xHlnU

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 9, 2023

🚨BREAKING: Sen. Joe Manchin announces that he is not running for Re-election.

Republicans will almost certainly be gaining a Senate seat in WV.
pic.twitter.com/ZHbuYTGq9y

— Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) November 9, 2023

Here’s what AP reported:

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.

Manchin, 76, said in a statement that he had made the decision “after months of deliberation and long conversations” with his family.

“I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” he said. “I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”

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His decision to retire severely hampers Democratic hopes of holding on to the coal country seat. For the last few years, Manchin has been the only Democrat elected to statewide office in West Virginia, a longtime politician who has served as governor, secretary of state and state legislator.

Joe Manchin & Mitt Romney are retiring?

I’m so gosh darn happy. https://t.co/Fc7K4IVAkd

— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) November 9, 2023