Manchin’s participation in No Labels Town Hall sparks third-party speculation.

Sen. Joe Manchin Joins “Common Sense” Town Hall, Fueling Speculation

Get ready for an exciting event! Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has just been added to the lineup of No Labels’ “Common Sense” town hall. This has sparked rumors that he might be considering a third-party run for president.

Joining former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) as a keynote speaker, Senator Manchin will take the stage at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire on July 17. This centrist political group’s event promises to be a must-attend gathering.

But that’s not all! The town hall will also feature other notable guests, including former Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), civil rights leader Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., former U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, and former Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.).

No Labels recently unveiled its “Common Sense” agenda, which tackles the United States’ biggest challenges. From the national budget to energy, immigration, inflation, education, and the nation’s role on the world stage, this agenda covers it all.

The name “Common Sense” is a nod to Thomas Paine’s influential pamphlet from 1776, advocating for American independence from Great Britain.

“At a moment when candidates in both parties too often speak only to the small sliver of voters who show up in their primaries, ‘Common Sense’ speaks to, and for, everyone else,” said No Labels in a July 10 news release. “Even if No Labels never offers our ballot line to a presidential ticket, we hope and believe Common Sense can shape the debate in 2024 and force candidates on both sides to respond to the concerns of the commonsense majority.”

Recent polls have consistently shown President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump leading the Democratic and GOP presidential primary fields, respectively. No Labels, wary of a 2020 rematch, has suggested the possibility of a “unity ticket” consisting of one Democrat and one Republican.

However, whether this becomes a reality depends on whether the two major parties “wake up,” as stated in an April 2 memo by the group.

Manchin Fuels Speculation

Rumors have been swirling for weeks about Senator Manchin’s potential third-party presidential bid, and he hasn’t done much to dispel them. In a June 4 interview with Fox News, he stated that he was “not ruling anything in, not ruling anything out.”

He further explained, “If Plan A shows that we’re going to the far reaches of both sides, the far-left and the far-right, and that people don’t want to go to the far-left and the far-right, they want to be governed from the middle, I think… that you better have that Plan B available and ready to go.”

While he didn’t explicitly confirm being “Plan B” in that interview, his participation in the upcoming town hall could be seen as a hint.

In a July 12 statement, Senator Manchin expressed, “It is clear that most Americans are exceedingly frustrated by the growing divide in our political parties and toxic political rhetoric from our elected leaders. Our political discourse is lacking engaged debates around common sense solutions.”