It’s official: Joe Manchin is not seeking reelection after filing deadline passes

Sen. Joe Manchin’s (I-WV) ability to keep reporters and fellow senators guessing on his nearly every move is perhaps second to none.

So when the Democrat-turned-independent declared last year he wouldn’t seek reelection against long odds in the ruby red state, reporters still sought to confirm he hadn’t had a change of heart long after.

West Virginia’s filing deadline for independent candidates seeking political office came and went on Thursday. True to Manchin’s word, the secretary of state’s online candidate list bore no mention of the 76-year-old’s name.

In the days leading up, Manchin quipped that perhaps he may still launch an 11th-hour campaign for some sort of office in the Mountain State.

“We still have a lot of time left,” he told the Washington Examiner earlier this week. “Nah, I’m messing with you. I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m not. I’m just kidding, I’m not.”

Last year, Manchin weighed a third-party presidential run against President Joe Biden but decided against it. Last month, in the midst of the fallout from Biden’s exit from the race, a close Manchin ally suggested the senator was considering a switch back to the Democratic Party to seek the nomination. However, he quickly batted down the notion and opted instead to advocate a contested primary.

Manchin’s party switch in June came just one day before the deadline by which he needed to become an independent should he have wanted to run for an office by the Thursday filing deadline, fueling further speculation he may not retire from Washington politics.

Manchin’s departure from the Senate, which he’s served in since 2010, at the end of his term in January 2025 will take with it one of the chamber’s most centrist voices — and a key seat for Democrats.

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) is expected to glide to victory as Manchin’s successor in November, a gut-punching flip for Democrats’ one-seat majority. That means to keep the chamber with a 50-50 tie, the party must successfully defend all of its competitive races in seven other states and Vice President Kamala Harris must win the White House.

If former President Donald Trump prevails, or if Republicans can flip any additional seats, the Senate will fall to the GOP.

As for Manchin’s horizon, he’s vowed to become more active in his daughter’s nonprofit centrist political group, Americans Together, and travel the country to speak about centrist politics.

“I just want to bring the country together, and we’ll still do that,” he said.