Joe Manchin: I will never be a spoiler
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., sounds off on 'Hannity' amid speculation his forthcoming tour is testing the presidential waters.
Outgoing West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin told Fox News on Wednesday he would "never be a spoiler" candidate when asked about his potential 2024 prospects.
Manchin, whose Democratic Senate seat was potentially in danger given the Mountain State's 30-point swing for Donald Trump in 2020, was asked on "Hannity" about his upcoming two-month "tour" to test the waters for a "national movement."
Host Sean Hannity noted how the "No Labels" organization might be looking at potential candidates to run in 2024, though founding chairman former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said there is no guarantee the group will field a candidate.
Lieberman previously told Fox News he could see Manchin as a potential candidate for "No Labels."
"Joe Manchin is a friend of mine. He's a great centrist. He really has walked the walk and worked on bipartisan problem-solving in Congress," said Lieberman, who was also the 2000 presidential running-mate for Tennessee Democrat Al Gore.
Manchin told "Hannity" he would never run for the presidency or any office if he knew he would be in a position to simply throw the race to either major-party candidate.
"That's not who I am. If I get into a race, I get into it to win," he said, adding many Americans feel politically "homeless" these days, with both parties "gone to the extremes."
The last substantive third-party candidate, populist Texas industrialist Ross Perot in 1992, was accused after-the-fact of throwing the election to then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton despite being closer politically to incumbent President George H. W. Bush.
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"So I'm going to go out and talk to people to find out what they believe needs to be done," Manchin said Wednesday.
"They'll make the decision, not me or anybody else, but I want them to know that there's enough of us in the middle that we want to take back our country, our values, who we are, how we became the country that we are, and how we're going to be able to leave a country that we're proud of to our children and grandchildren."
He added that every American has a responsibility to come forward and take action if they feel the nation is on the wrong trajectory, saying that unless the political extremes can be quashed, problems cannot be solved.
Manchin also reflected on his longtime friend President Biden, saying he has been "pulled to the left" in a way he has never seen the former senator govern.
"He wasn't a senator for 36 years on the extremes, and I'm hoping he comes back to the middle," he said.
With his decision against re-election, the two Republicans vying for the party's nomination — Rep. Alex Mooney and Gov. Jim Justice — are seen as favorites at this point by many.