Joe Manchin announces he won’t be running for president

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has announced that he will not be launching a presidential campaign, ending speculation about a run for the White House that would have thrown more chaos and confusion into an already tumultuous 2024 election season.

Manchin, a centrist Democrat from a deep red state, has long been a thorn in the side of his party and especially its left wing. Since announcing his decision not seek re-election to the Senate, Manchin, 76, has toyed with the idea that he might launch an independent or third-party bid for the White House.

“I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said during remarks in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Friday. He insisted that his focus was on bridging divides at a moment of deep political polarization, and said he would not want to play the role of “spoiler” in an all-but-certain rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

“I just don’t think it’s the right time,” Manchin said. “Democracy is at stake right now.”

His announcement comes against a backdrop of widespread voter dissatisfaction with both the incumbent, who at 81 years old is seen by many as being too old for a second term, and his predecessor, 77, whose legal travails and extremist rhetoric have spurred fears of a political crisis in the US should he win.

“I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together,” Manchin said. “And right now we’re challenged.”

Following his decision in November to forgo a re-election campaign, Manchin had embarked on a nationwide listening tour as he stoked speculation of a presidential run. He aligned himself with No Labels, a