All the options are on the table for the Democrats. But it’s starting to take shape.
And now a top Democrat has made an utterly massive 2024 Presidential campaign announcement.
At the end of 2023 and in the beginning of 2024, there was a ton of speculation that a major third party candidate could hop in the race to complicate the race for President that was, at the time, shaping up to be a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Of course, now we know, that Democrats were scared to death of Biden making it to November and pulled the plug on him in the most disgraceful way.
The big name at the time being thrown around was U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, the Democrat from West Virginia. The political organization known as “No Labels” was reportedly trying to get Manchin to announce a campaign under their banner, but this never materialized.
Now, with Joe Biden out of the picture, the entire Democrat field has been under consideration to be the new Democrat nominee to take on the seemingly invincible Donald Trump this November. Sure, Kamala Harris is the leader, but many political insiders are noting it’s not a done deal just yet. Not with some holdouts like Barack Obama having yet to endorse her.
Joe Manchin has been brought up in discussions over the past two days, but now we have an official announcement from him about whether he’d seek to become the Democrat nominee and actually run for President.
Senator Joe Manchin Confirms He Will Not Enter 2024 Presidential Race
Independent Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced on Monday that he will not run in the 2024 presidential election, dispelling rumors of his potential candidacy following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Despite facing accusations of being overly eager for the nomination, Manchin made his intentions clear during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“No, no, I’m not intending to run for any political office. I’ve made that very clear, I’m retiring,” Manchin told co-host Mika Brzezinski. He emphasized his continued commitment to public discourse, particularly representing the independent voters who make up a significant portion of the electorate. “Fifty-one percent of us are registered to participate and vote, but we’re independents and twenty-three percent of that base is Democrat and twenty-five percent is Republican.”
Joe Manchin reveals whether or not he intends to enter presidential race pic.twitter.com/dq7FnhBERt
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 22, 2024
In a separate interview on CBS News, Gayle King noted that some Americans perceived Manchin as “thirsty” for a primary challenge within the Democratic Party. Manchin dismissed this notion, arguing that focusing a campaign on demonizing former President Donald Trump is not a viable strategy.
“Well I’m just saying, we know who Donald Trump is,” Manchin stated. He critiqued Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the orderly transfer of power and his stance on several key issues, including support for Ukraine and respect for the rule of law. “What they don’t know is to a contested primary, which I was hoping there’d be some form of a mini primary,” he added, expressing disappointment over the lack of a streamlined primary process in the U.S.
Manchin stopped short of endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden supported immediately after withdrawing from the race. He praised Biden’s decision to step down, suggesting it was the right move for both the president and the country.
“He made the right decision for himself, for his family, but most importantly for our country,” Manchin said. “He has a chance now to spend one hundred percent of his time trying to get peace in the Middle East, trying to solidify Ukraine’s position to win freedom, and to show the rest of the world how the superpower transfers their power in an orderly, dignified, and passionate way.”
Manchin’s comments came shortly after he publicly called for Biden to step down during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” His call was part of a broader push from 36 other Democrats in Congress, including prominent figures such as California Rep. Adam Schiff, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, and Vermont Sen. Pat Welch. They urged the 81-year-old president to retire following a disappointing performance in the June 27 debate, raising concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in a potential rematch.
As of the time of writing this article, there has been no major Democrat announcing a challenge to the possibility of a Kamala Harris campaign to shore up the nomination come time for the convention this August.
Though key endorsement holdouts like Barack Obama and even Joe Manchin, who are very much of different political persuasions, certainly open up the possibility for someone else to jump in and make some noise.
Someone like Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a state Democrats are desparate to win with its crucial 19 electoral votes, could have the backing of the establishment Democrats and the big donors who view Kamala Harris as particularly vulnerable in a national election.
You may remember that back in 2010, Kamala Harris barely won her race for Attorney General in the deep blue state of California against the Republican challenger. No doubt Democrats are nervous about her odds against Donald Trump who seems to be defying all the odds, including barely surviving an assassination attempt.
The Conservative Column will keep you updated on any major 2024 election news.
