MSNBC’s Kristen Welker interviewed Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) about his considerations for a possible 2024 presidential campaign.

Welker pressed the Democrat senator, who said he won’t seek re-election for the U.S. Senate, for his thinking about a potential presidential run.

Although initially hesitant to answer, Manchin said he “absolutely” would consider running for president.

WATCH:

“The West Virginia Democrat said he first has to explore whether there’s an appetite among voters for a moderate candidate like him,” NBC News reports.

Per NBC News:

The news comes after Manchin announced last week that he would not seek re-election to the Senate, which will make it difficult for his party to hold the seat in the deep-red state and reshape the battle for Senate control in 2024.

Manchin said he doesn’t think there’s a deadline for him to make a decision about a presidential run, but mentioned he would figure that out around Super Tuesday, scheduled for March 5, if he has a following.

The senator dodged questions about whether he would only run as a third-party candidate, just saying, “The bottom line is, I’m as independent as it becomes.”

Manchin seemed to reject the notion that an independent bid could hurt President Joe Biden’s re-election chances. “I’ve never been a spoiler in my life of anything, and I would never be a spoiler now,” he said.

If Manchin throws his hat into the ring, it would add to the growing list of candidates.

In addition to Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Republican and Democrat frontrunners, other candidates include independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West, Green Party Jill Stein, and the Libertarian Party candidate.

There’s much speculation Manchin may run on a No Labels ticket.

From Axios:

No Labels — a well-funded organization that’s exploring a potential bipartisan presidential ticket — earlier this month called Manchin a “tireless voice for America’s commonsense majority and a longtime ally of the No Labels movement.”

“Joe Manchin should run for President as the ‘No Labels’ candidate. He would take so many votes away from Biden we’d basically be guaranteed a MAGA landslide,” Joey Mannarino writes.

https://twitter.com/JoeyMannarinoUS/status/1722704520818385361

“Sen. Joe Manchin will not seek re-election, so the odds of him running on the ‘No Labels’ ticket for President have likely increased exponentially. If he does run, it will split the votes and, in the end, only help Trump in the 2024 election,” Olivia Troye writes.

 

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