Senator Joe Manchin (I., W. Va.) confirmed Monday morning that he will not run for the Democratic nomination, less than 24 hours after the president abruptly dropped out of the 2024 race and quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I am not going to be a candidate for president,” Manchin definitively said on CBS Mornings. “I don’t need that in my life.”
While turning down the possibility of running for office, Manchin said he would like to see a “mini-primary” of sorts to choose the party’s nominee. “I think a lot of people would like to see a mini-primary,” he said. “That’s the process — find out if you have the strongest candidate, whether it could be Kamala or whoever else.”
The comments come after CNN’s Jake Tapper and Robert Costa of CBS reported that Democratic donors were pushing Manchin to stand for the nomination.
Manchin called for President Joe Biden to quit his reelection campaign hours before Biden did so on Sunday. The retiring Democrat-turned-independent was one of five senators who publicly said they wanted Biden to drop out. Senators Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), Jon Tester (D., Mont.), Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.), and Peter Welch (D., Vt.) made similar statements this month.
Weeks before Biden announced his withdrawal, Representative James Clyburn (D., S.C.) first suggested a mini-primary leading into the Democratic National Convention in August. It’s unclear what the mini-primary process would look like, but it could involve a campaign blitz between alternative Democratic presidential contenders in the weeks to come.
However, considering Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, a competitive process to weigh numerous Biden-replacements may not be necessary.
Joining Biden in backing Harris as the party’s presumptive nominee were former president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and California governor Gavin Newsom. Former president Barack Obama notably declined to endorse the vice president, leaving open the possibility for an “outstanding nominee” to emerge in an open nominating process at the convention next month.
“I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” Obama said in a statement. “I believe that Joe Biden’s vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August.”
At least 530 Democratic delegates have already pledged to back Harris, who needs to secure 1,986 delegates to win the nomination. The party’s convention starts August 19 in Chicago.
During Monday’s CBS interview, Manchin said Harris is “absolutely” too far to the left and runs the risk of alienating independent voters — the largest voting bloc in the U.S. The 76-year-old senator, who touted himself as speaking on behalf of that demographic, added that neither Democrats nor Republicans can win the November election without support from the “sensible, moderate middle.”