Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced on Friday that he will not run for president after taking a few months to consider his prospects.
“I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said during a speech in West Virginia, according to POLITICO.
“I just don’t think it’s the right time,” Manchin added, according to The Washington Post. “Democracy is at stake right now.”
Manchin declared in November that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2024 but did leave open the possibility of a White House campaign.
At the time, Manchin said he would be “traveling the country and speaking out to see if there’s an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”
Speculation about Manchin embarking on a third-party run brought attention to No Labels, which has been touting a potential “Unity ticket” while citing polls showing Americans being dissatisfied with their choices.
“No Labels is currently speaking with several exceptional leaders about serving on the presidential Unity ticket,” the group’s leaders said in a statement on Friday.
The group added, “We are continuing to make great progress on our ballot access efforts and will announce in the coming weeks whether we will offer our line to a Unity ticket.”
Days before Manchin announced that he would not run a campaign for the White House, he shared some ideas for people he might pick as a running mate.
Manchin said “hypothetically” he would ask Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who ran an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2012, or former Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the frontrunners in their respective party’s contest to win the presidential nomination.
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Other candidates who remain in the running include former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
During his speech on Friday, Manchin said he did not want to be a “spoiler” in the 2024 contest, according to Axios.
“I will get involved in making sure that we secure a president who has the knowledge and has a passion and has the ability to bring this country together,” Manchin said.