Senator Joe Manchin, a maverick who has often bucked party leadership in the past two years, said on Thursday that he will not seek re-election, hurting Democrats' chance of defending their thin Senate majority in the 2024 election.
The move by the 76-year-old lawmaker will make it very difficult for Democrats to defend his West Virginia seat.
"We like our odds in West Virginia," Senator Steve Daines, the head of Republican senators' campaign arm, said in a statement.
David Bergstein, a spokesperson for the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, said the party was confident in its chances of strengthening its majority.
Manchin has insisted that his only motivation is the coal-producing state of West Virginia and an eye on fiscal responsibility.
Persons:
Joe Manchin, Manchin, Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Joe Biden, Steve Daines, Biden, Trump, David Bergstein, Matt Bennett, he's, Bennett, Julia Nikhinson, Jim Justice, Justice, Biden's, Kyrsten Sinema, Roe, Wade, Mitt Romney, Moira Warburton, Jasper Ward, Makini Brice, Richard Cowan, Jason Lange, David Morgan, Scott Malone, Alistair Bell, Daniel Wallis
Organizations:
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Locations:
West Virginia, Montana and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Democratic, Washington , U.S, Washington, America, Jasper