Sen. Joe Manchin (Ind.-West Virginia) is considering running against Vice President Harris for the Democratic nomination.
A source familiar with Manchin confirmed that the West Virginia senator is considering re-registering as a Democrat in order to seek the nomination.
Manchin had considered running in a primary against President Biden but ultimately decided against it, and he has not run for the remainder of his Senate term because he is expected to be succeeded by West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice next year.
A longtime moderate Democrat, he changed his party affiliation to independent in May to keep his political options open for the future.
That same day, Manchin became the fifth senator to call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
“I come to this decision with a heavy heart and believe it’s time to pass the baton to a new generation,” Manchin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I urge him to use his remaining five months in office to work as president to unite the country, calm speech and focus attention on world peace.”
Manchin also called for an “open process” to select a successor in the coming weeks.
“I think we have a lot of talented, high-caliber people on our bench,” Manchin told CNN, adding that his top picks include Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pennsylvania).
