Apparently, Joe Manchin is not a record label. At least not a political person.
The West Virginia senator made his debut on Fox News on Sunday. to which he declined to answer directly if he identified as a member of the Democratic Party.
“I identify as American,” Manchin said when the host repeatedly asked Maria Bartiromo if he still considered himself a Democrat. “I’ve always been an American.”
Manchin faces an uphill battle in 2024, when Democrats are elected in a state that voted for Trump by 39 votes in 2020. He has yet to say whether he will run for office. again or not But this incumbent serves as one of the best Democrats. a chance to secure a majority in the Senate
Stubborn neutrals, though, continued to seek a more neutral route on Sunday. But he stood public by voting for the Inflation Reduction Act. When asked if he regretted voting for the spending bill, Manchin remained firm. by calling it “The most transformative bill we’ve ever had” during his time as a senator.
Manchin was first elected to the Senate in the 2010 special election, succeeding long-serving senator Robert Byrd after his death. West Virginia, a longtime Democratic state, has rapidly shifted to the right over the past few decades.
Bill Clinton has won the state in both presidential nominations. It gained nearly 15 percent in 1996, but that was the last time the state would vote for a Democrat for president.
Shelley Moore Capito, the other West Virginia Republican senator Sweep the state in 2020 with 70 percent of the vote.
