Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., is less of a potential third-party nominee in 2024 and more of a “walking dead man,” according to David Axelrod, a CNN commentator who served as former President Barack’s senior policy adviser. Barack Obama.
Running as a third-party candidate may be “a graceful exit for him” as Manchin’s chances of re-election to the Senate are slim, Axelrod said Monday on CNN.
“I don’t mean to be mean to Senator Manchin, but he’s kind of a dead man walking in West Virginia. He has nowhere to go,” he said.
A recent East Carolina University poll shows Manchin trailing Gov. Jim Justice by 22 points and Rep. Alex Mooney, RW.Va., by 1 point in a hypothetical game for the U.S. Senate primary in the United States. ‘State.
“He’s got a popular Republican governor in the state that Donald Trump carried by nearly 40 points. He didn’t win much last time. So he knows he can’t get re-elected in that state,” he said. said Axelrod.
Manchin said he will decide at the end of the year whether to run for re-election to the Senate or consider a run for the White House, and he hasn’t ruled out campaigning as a third-party candidate.
“You better have plan B because if plan A shows we’re going to the edges of both sides, the far left and the far right,” Manchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” He said people don’t want to go far left or far right. “They want to be ruled from the middle.”
Joe Manchin for President? : West Virginia senator continues to consider third-party offer
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Joe Manchin a ‘walking dead man’ in West Virginia? Axelrod says yes