Politics

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin declares himself independent

The sometimes-ally could upset Democrats' Senate majority.
By
May 2, 2023; Washington, DC; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV opens with statements as Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, testifies in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
May 2, 2023; Washington, DC; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV opens with statements as Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, testifies in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Photo: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) changed his party affiliation to independent, feuling speculation that he will run for reelection this fall without party affiliation.

“My commitment to do everything I can to bring our country together has led me to register as an independent with no party affiliation,” he said in an announcement on social media.

Related:

Joe Manchin has officially killed Biden’s ambitious domestic agenda

The vain Senator from West Virginia isn’t worried about Democrats losing the Senate if he can stay the center of attention. At least Susan Collins eventually votes with her party’s priorities.

While he’s running as an independent, he has not said whether he is leaving the Democratic Caucus. If he did, he could cost the Democrats their majority in the Senate after this year’s elections. Currently, there are 48 Democratic senators and three independents who caucus with the Democrats, giving the party a one-seat majority in the chamber.

Manchin, who was first elected to the Senate since he was elected to the body in a special election in 2010 following the death of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV). He has since been the most right-leaning Democrat in the Senate.

He has, at times, supported LGBTQ+ equality, scoring between 30 and 60 out of 100 on the past several Congressional Scorecards from the Human Rights Campaign. In the most recent Congress, he was the only Senate Democrat to support an amendment to the 2021 COVID relief bill blocking funds for schools that treat transgender students equally in sports.

He was also the only Senate Democrat to vote for an amendment to the Respect for Marriage Act that would have allowed government contractors to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. The amendment ended up failing anyway.

When the Supreme Court made marriage equality legal in all 50 states in 2015 with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision, Manchin hardly celebrated. “America is a nation of laws, and we must respect and abide by the Supreme Court’s decision,” he said in a statement at the time. That was his full statement.

Manchin’s departure from the party follows his centrist colleague, out Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who declared herself independent in late 2022. She too often thwarted President Joe Biden’s and Congressional Democrats’ agenda, and, when she united with Manchin since the 2022 elections, they were able to deny Senate Democrats a majority.

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