Sen. Joe Manchin (IW.Va.) said Monday he is not running for office following speculation that he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination after President Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday.
“I’m not running for public office,” Manchintold “CBS Mornings”on Monday, adding, “I’m not looking for it… I don’t need it in my life.”
“Let me make it very clear to you, I will not run for president,” he added.
Manchin’s comments come less than a day after reports emerged that he was considering re-registering as a Democrat to run against Vice President Harris, who has been endorsed by Biden to replace him on the ticket.
The West Virginia lawmaker called a mini primary and said he “couldn’t believe” such a process wouldn’t happen.
“People are looking at the middle. Where you? Well, we’d like to see that. We will not be able to see a vigorous primary process, even three weeks,” Manchin said. “No one else is willing to talk. They’ll say, ‘Well, we’re falling behind. We’re just going to get in line. I’m sorry, I don’t agree with that.”
Manchin said there are several topics worth discussing, pointing to border security.
His comments to CBS marked his most definitive answer about a potential presidential run, after not being confirmed by CNN moments earlier.
When asked on CNN whether he will run against Harris for the Democratic nomination, he said: “I don’t think so, I don’t know. I just, we’ll see.
He also asked to “go through some kind of process” to choose the strongest candidate anddiscardedserving as Harris’ vice president.
A longtime Democrat known for his centrist views, Manchin became an independent in May and filed a primary bid against Biden, but ultimately decided not to do so.
He is not seeking re-election in the Senate in November.
Biden withdrew from the 2024 election on Sunday, ending a 50-year political career.
It followed a tumultuous month for the president, whose weak debate against former President Trump last month fueled concerns among some members of the Democratic Party about his viability as a candidate.
The president said he will address the country later this week to discuss his decision to quit.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. And while it was my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to resign and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted online. social.
Hours before Biden released the letter, Manchin became the fifth senator to call on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
“I made the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
Updated at 8:27 am
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
