Joe Manchin floats presidential run as a Democrat after Biden steps aside

Shortly after Joe Biden announced he was abandoning his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a longtime Democrat who in May left the party to become an independent, is reportedly himself mulling a run for the White House.

Manchin, 76, on Sunday morning called for Biden, 81, to step aside in favor of a younger, more electable candidate.

“He will go down with a legacy unlike many people as one of the finest and truly a patriot, an American, so with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin said in an appearance on ABC’s This Week.

Several hours later, following weeks of intense pressure from prominent Democrats and deep-pocketed donors, Biden went public with his plan to drop out of the race.

According to unnamed sources cited by The Hill, Manchin is considering rejoining the Democratic Party to vie for the nomination. He has spoken favorably of the “open” nominating process planned for the upcoming Democratic National Convention, where a “transparent and orderly process” will officially anoint a candidate, party chair Jaime Harrison said.

Doubts about Biden’s chances of winning November’s election against twice-impeached former president and newly-minted felon Donald Trump, who was formally nominated at this past week’s Republican National Convention as the GOP candidate after surviving an assassination attempt last Sunday, began to gain traction following a dismal debate performance last month. Other Democrats pushed for a replacement, and major backers said they would withhold some $90 million in donations until Biden left the race.

The possibility of Manchin weighing a run as a Democrat was