With speculation mounting that he will launch a presidential bid instead of seeking another term in Congress, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) declined to announce his future plans during his appearance as the keynote speaker for No Labels’ Common Sense Town Hall on July 17.
Former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman joined Mr. Manchin at the event, which was held at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.
Founded in 2010, No Labels is a bipartisan organization that promotes centrist candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties. Mr. Manchin serves as the Democratic co-chair and Mr. Huntsman is the Republican co-chair.
No Labels billed the town hall as a release of its Common Sense policy booklet, which outlines the organization’s platform. Political observers have contemplated if the appearance of Mr. Manchin and Mr. Huntsman together in a state that historically kicks off presidential primary season hinted at a No Labels 2024 presidential ticket.
“I think people are putting the cart ahead of the horse,” Mr. Manchin told moderator Kevin Cirilli. “We’re here to make sure the American people have an option, and the option is can you move the political parties off their respective sides.”
“They’ve gone too far right and too far left,” Mr. Manchin added. “That’s not who we are, that’s not where we come from, and it’s not the people we are.”
‘Trying to Save the Nation’
Mr. Manchin also told Mr. Cirilli early in the town hall, “I’m not here running for president tonight. I’m here basically trying to save the nation. I’m more concerned now than I’ve ever been concerned in my life.”When Mr. Cirilli asked Mr. Manchin if his candidacy would act as a spoiler in the presidential race, he responded, “I’ve never been in any race I’ve ever spoiled. I’ve been in races to win and if I get in a race, I’m gonna win. With that being said, I haven’t made a decision.”
No Labels introduced what it calls “Insurance Policy 2024” earlier this year.
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I- Ct.) spoke at the town hall before Mr. Manchin and Mr. Huntsman took the stage. The purpose of No Labels, he said, is to reunite political parties, “stop the partisanship and incivility and refusal to compromise that divided our country and disabled our government” and offer new ideas.
Saddled with low approval ratings and polls that indicate many Americans are not happy with the state of the economy, President Joe Biden is seeking a second term. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is challenging him for the Democratic party nomination. Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee voted to pledge their full support to Biden.
Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the polls in the crowded group vying for the Republican nomination.
No Labels has indicated it could present an alternative option if there is a rematch between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump in 2024.
“If we end up in 2024 with the same nominees that we did in 2020, is that the definition of insanity or what?” Mr. Huntsman said, adding that polls show 67 percent of Americans don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch.
No Labels is focused on gaining ballot access in all 50 states to potentially field a third-party presidential ticket in 2024, an initiative that is being challenged by Democrats and Republicans.
“We’ve got volunteers signing up people everywhere. Sadly, we have some operatives out of Washington, D.C., who want to just keep the status quo as it is and stop our efforts,” said No Labels national co-chair Pat McCrory, a former Republican North Carolina governor. “We will present a president and vice president candidate on a No Labels ticket, but only if we see an opportunity to win.”
No Labels officials have said they will not decide if the organization announces a “unity ticket” of one Democrat and one Republican until the stretch of time between the Super Tuesday primaries in March 2024 and its convention in Dallas a month later.
“The center needs a voice in this country,” said Nancy Jacobson, one of No Labels’ founders and the organization’s chief executive officer.
Mr. Huntsman, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to China and then Russia, said Democrats’ claims that a third-party ticket would lead to another Trump presidency hints at authoritarian regimes in countries that “don’t allow any choice.”
“When I start hearing people here say, ‘That’s not a good thing, we shouldn’t do things to expand and enhance our participation in the system because it might result in A, B, or C winning or losing.’ I say, ‘I’ve heard that before, but not in this country.' Here we do it differently,” Mr. Huntsman said, evoking applause from a crowd of 200.
Mr. Manchin, 75, is a former two-term West Virginia governor currently in the midst of his second six-year term as a West Virginia U.S. senator. He has yet to announce his intentions for 2024.
Current West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, is running for his party’s nomination in an attempt to unseat Manchin if he decides to pursue another term. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), one of West Virginia’s two U.S. representatives, is also in the race.
Mr. Manchin raised $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2023.
The Epoch Times obtained the fundraising figures along with other numbers indicating that Mr. Manchin’s campaign has $10.7 million cash on hand and $2.2 million available in his leadership PAC Country Roads.
A poll released on May 30 by the East Carolina University Center for Survey Research showed Mr. Justice with a 22-percentage point lead over Mr. Manchin in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.
Conducted from May 22 to May 23 among 957 registered voters in West Virginia, the poll indicated that Mr. Justice leads Mr. Manchin, 54 percent to 32 percent, with 13 percent undecided. The survey had a credibility interval (similar to a margin of error) of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Mr. Manchin has faced criticism from Democrats during his Senate tenure for taking moderate stances and working across the aisle with Republicans. He helped craft Mr. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and later railed against the measure. He has also backed the fossil fuel industry, drawing the ire of those concerns that more carbon emissions will result in dangerous climate change.
“I believe in an all-of-the-above energy policy. This country cannot run unless we have an all-of-the-above energy policy,” Mr. Manchin said at the town hall. “Basically, 65 percent to 70 percent of your energy comes today from fossil fuels.
“Can we use fossil cleanly? Yes, we have. We’ve cleaned up the environment more in the last two decades than anywhere else in the world,” Mr. Manchin added. “Most of all of your pollution right now, 90 percent, will be from Asia.”
At the town hall, Mr. Manchin called the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol an insurrection and said that Americans should accept election results.
“One thing about the political process: when the race is over, and the people have spoken, you move on,” Mr. Manchin said. “That’s democracy, the orderly transfer of power. And that’s what the whole world is watching us.”
Regarding gun violence, Mr. Manchin said that people who are “absolute criminals” and have committed heinous crimes or have mental health issues should not have access to firearms, but that there should be a balance in the Second Amendment.
Mr. Manchin over the past year has increased his criticism of the Biden administration. He told the town hall audience that he will not change his affiliation to the Republican party but would remain closer to the middle politically.
“I’m the most independent Democrat you’ve ever met,” Mr. Manchin said with a smile.
