Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has left the Democratic Party after years of speculation of whether or not he would continue to stay. He announced that he would not be running for reelection in November, but still said that he would continue to stay a member of the Democratic Party.
In a statement, he said “Our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground,” Manchin, who has long been a pivotal swing vote in the Senate, said in a statement. “To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.”
The announcement comes after Manchin also turned down the opportunity to run for president with the centrist third party no labels earlier this year.
If political timing has anything to do with this decision the last day to file to register for office in West Virginia is August 1, some speculate that he wants to run for office and state again as an independent .