Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. has yet to cement his plans for the 2024 Senate race, and that might have something to do with Sunday's tease of potentially pursuing the White House next year.
During his appearance on CBS News, Manchin said, "I'm not taking anything off the table. And I'm not putting anything on the table."
Earlier in the show, Manchin had been noncommittal about endorsing President Joe Biden's likely reelection campaign.
In the event of a White House run, Manchin could become the first sitting U.S. senator to attempt a primary challenge of an incumbent president since Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1980, when he ran against President Jimmy Carter in the Democratic Party primary.
Also, Sunday's revelation from Manchin comes just 11 days after the centrist Democrat was seemingly adamant about not seeking the White House post.
While speaking to local network MetroNews on Feb. 22, Manchin said, "I'm not running for President of the United States. I can assure you of that as we sit here today."
Within that same conversation, Manchin added, "My goal is to bring the country together. Two years from now, or a year-and-a-half from now, let's see where it ends up — I don't know. So, you keep every option you can open if you can be more effective."
Manchin's political uncertainty also covers the forthcoming West Virginia Senate race.
On the Republican side, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice recently confirmed he's been harboring thoughts of the 2024 Senate chase. As a possible consequence of that, Manchin hasn't said whether he'll formally defend his Senate seat.
Back on Feb. 24, Puck News reported that Manchin had "changed his mind multiple times" about next year's Senate prospects.
"He doesn't want to go out a loser," a source close to Manchin told Puck News. "He's paying very close attention to what [West Virginia Gov. Jim] Justice does."
In 2018, Manchin held off Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, in the U.S. Senate race, outlasting the West Virginia attorney general by 0.3 percentage points and fewer than 20,000 votes.
However, next year could be a different dynamic for Manchin, whose deciding Senate vote last year reportedly pushed through the Inflation Reduction Act — a bill that was panned by West Virginia Republicans.
One recent poll in West Virginia, commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, has Justice (52%) beating Manchin (42%) by 10 percentage points in a hypothetical one-on-one Senate matchup.
West Virginia might not be the only vulnerable spot for Senate Democrats in next year's elections.
According to the Washington Examiner, the seats currently held by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., could be flip opportunities for Senate Republicans in 2024.
Right now, the Democrats have a 51-49 seat advantage in the Senate, since Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Angus King, I-Maine, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. caucus with the Democrats, despite their independent status.
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