MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will announce Friday that he is not running for president, according to two sources familiar with the decision, after spending months mulling a bid that would have shaken up the 2024 campaign.
Manchin, 76, had said last November that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat this year, leading to speculation that he would run for the White House as an independent or as a third-party candidate.
The centrist senator is expected to discuss the importance of independent voices and leave the door open to departing the Democratic Party during a speech here.
Democrats feared a Manchin candidacy would have pulled votes away from President Joe Biden and boost former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, in a general election.
This is a breaking story that will be updated.