It was probably a tough decision, but Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made the right call when he announced last week that he won’t seek the presidency on a third-party ticket.
Manchin is good at winning elections. Excepting a primary upset for governor in the 1990s, he’s succeeded whenever his name has been on the ballot. He had to win twice in his early days as a senator, first winning a special election following the death of then-Sen. Robert C. Byrd in 2010, then winning his first full term in 2012.
As West Virginia has turned deep red and given massive support to Donald Trump and other far-right politicians and ideals, Manchin remains the only Mountain State Democrat holding any office of significance at the state or federal level. He was even able to hold off a challenge from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in 2018, despite Trump campaigning hard for the latter.
Manchin obviously had doubts about holding onto his seat for another term this year, which had to be one of the reasons he decided not to run again. He also probably knew a third-party bid for president, for which he would’ve been a top pick, had no chance of going anywhere.
