Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says he won’t seek reelection in 2024

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.

Manchin, 76, said in a statement that he had made the decision “after months of deliberation and long conversations” with his family.

“I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia,” he said.

Calling it “one of the toughest decisions” of his life, he said he would instead spend time “traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”

His decision to retire severely hampers Democratic hopes of holding on to the coal-country seat. For the last few years, Manchin has been the only Democrat elected statewide in West Virginia. He has served as governor, secretary of state and state legislator.

Republicans began clamoring for the Senate seat even before Manchin’s announcement, with GOP Rep. Alex Mooney jumping into the race less than two weeks after winning his fifth term in the House last year.

Already, 2024 was shaping up to be a tough election cycle for Senate Democrats. The party has to defend 23 seats, including three held by independents, compared with just 10 seats for Republicans. Manchin is one of just three Democratic senators up for reelection in 2024
who represent a state won by President Trump, a Republican, in 2020.

Manchin, a conservative Democrat, was both a crucial vote and a constant headache for his party in the first two years of President Biden’s term. In a 50-50 chamber that Democrats controlled by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Manchin leveraged his power to shape legislation to his liking.

Along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a Democrat who became an independent after last year’s midterm election, Manchin helped water down much
of Biden’s social spending agenda. He has frequently clashed with members of his own party over his strong support for coal and other fossil fuels.

Days before last year’s midterms, he blasted Biden for being “cavalier” and “divorced from reality” for vowing to shutter coal-fired power plants and rely more heavily on wind and solar energy. Manchin demanded a public apology from Biden, and the White House acquiesced by issuing a statement saying the president “regrets it if anyone hearing these remarks took offense.”

Manchin’s announcement comes just a year after Democrats increased their Senate majority to 51-49 by flipping a Republican-held seat in Pennsylvania. The practical effect of that victory was giving Democrats the ability to pass bills without every vote in their caucus — ending Manchin’s ability to singlehandedly thwart some of his party’s priorities.

Manchin regained some of that influence when Sinema became an independent, though she made clear she would not caucus with Republicans. She is also up for reelection in 2024 but has not announced her plans.

Manchin entered the Senate after winning a special election in 2010 following the death of Robert C. Byrd. He won reelection in 2012 and 2018, with the latter campaign his toughest in his three-plus decades in West Virginia politics. He defeated Republican state Atty. Gen. Patrick Morrisey by just over 3 percentage points.

Registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans in West Virginia during Manchin’s first two Senate campaigns, but that’s changed. Now, about 39% of registered voters in the state are Republicans, compared with 33% who are Democrats and about 24% who claim no party affiliation.

Both chambers of the Legislature have GOP supermajorities, and Trump overwhelmingly won the state in 2016 and 2020.

Manchin’s penchant for not following fellow Democrats on some key votes has caused angst and bruised relationships within his party. It even prompted independent Sen. Bernie Sanders to suggest that he would support a 2024 Democratic primary challenger to Manchin.

Manchin’s split with the White House prompted Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to publicly invite him to join the GOP. But Manchin held firm there, too, saying he still saw himself as a Democrat.

During Manchin’s first two Senate terms, West Virginia lost thousands of coal jobs as companies and utilities explored other energy sources such as natural gas, solar and wind. Manchin later promoted the Biden administration’s plans to involve the state in the development of clean energy. But his push to speed permits for natural gas pipelines and other energy projects — including a planned pipeline in his home state — failed.

Manchin was the only Democrat to vote for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh in 2018, and one of three Democrats to back Trump nominee Neil M. Gorsuch in 2017. But Manchin voted with Democrats on other key issues, including the GOP’s failed 2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act passed under President Obama.