Democrat Joe Manchin Says He Has 'No Intention' of Switching Parties, But Doesn't Rule Out a Future Change

Mar. 15, 2025

Sen. Joe Manchin.Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty

Sen. Joe Manchin says he’s not planning to leave the Democratic Party in the wake of his colleague Kyrsten Sinema’sdecision to become an independent— but he isn’t ruling out a party switch in the future.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Manchin, 75, said: “I’ll look at all of these things. I’ve always looked at all these things but I have no intention of doing anything right now,“The Hill reports.

He did offer a caveat, however: “Whether I do something later, I can’t tell you what the future’s going to bring. I can only tell you where I am and my mindset.”

Manchin added that he “tremendously respects” Sinema’s decision.

Inan op-edwritten forThe Arizona Republic, Sinema explained her decision, arguing, “There’s a disconnect between what everyday Americans want and deserve from our politics, and what political parties are offering.”

Though she’ll no longer be a Democrat, she said she doesn’t expect her decision to make a drastic difference on a practical level. She plans to keep the committee assignments Senate Democrats have given her, and asserts that her new affiliation is intended to reflect how she’s “never really fit into a box of any political party,” according to Politico.

Manchin — who is up for reelection in 2024 — comes from a storied Democratic family, but is often cited as the most conservative member of his party in the Senate.

The self-described “moderate Democrat” has swatted down rumors concerning his party affiliation in the past.

Last October, the West Virginia senator told reporters at the U.S. Capitol that an anonymously sourced report that he has got a plan to switch his party affiliation was “b——-.”

“I can’t control rumors, and it’s b——-, b——- spelled with b, u, l, l, capital B!” Manchin said as he walked through the Hart Senate Office Building,according to The Hill.

Mother Jonesinitially reportedthat Manchin had been telling people he was considering leaving the Democratic Party during talks over the price tag for PresidentJoe Biden’s proposed Build Back Better Act, a sweeping spending package.

The report did not name sources but attributed the information to “people who have heard Manchin discuss this.”

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“If it is ‘embarrassing’ to them to have a moderate, centrist Democrat in the mix and if it would help them publicly, I could become an independent,” he said he offered.

But that proposition never went anywhere, Manchin said.

“I’m not threatening to leave. Why would I? I’m very secure in my positions and honestly, I’m not the one stressed out,” Manchin told The Hill.

source: people.com