Control of the Senate at stake with Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection
Republicans’ prospects of recapturing control of the U.S. Senate were boosted on Thursday with the conservative Democratic U.S.
Sen. Joe Manchin’s (W.Va.) announcement that he will not seek reelection. Mindful that his party controls 48 Democratic and three independent votes in the upper chamber, and that Republicans are favored in next year’s Senate map, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) has been privately urging Manchin to run again in 2024.
Separately, the West Virginia senator is considering whether to run for president as an independent, sparking concerns that he would peel votes away from President Joe Biden, who is running for reelection. “After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” Manchin announced in a video shared on X.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) had already disclosed plans to run for Manchin’s seat, with polls showing the conservative governor handily beating the senator in a hypothetical contest.
