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Re: White House tried, and failed, to persuade Manchin to make another Senate run
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rubin tu
Nov 12, 2023, 1:05:04 AM11/12/23
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On 20 Mar 2020, peer for less <loo...@you.lou> posted some
news:r532i7$5ub$2...@esteban.tulanet.com:
> Manchin would kick Biden's ass. He should run.
As Sen. Joe Manchin struggled for several months over the next step he
would take politically, President Joe Biden’s top advisers privately tried
to persuade him to run for another term in the Senate.
Multiple West Wing aides, including senior counselor Steve Ricchetti, and
some outside Biden allies talked with the West Virginia Democrat,
according to two White House officials and another adviser who were
granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the
conversations. Their pitch to Manchin was that, while a reelection bid in
a deep-red state would be difficult, he had a path to victory.
They failed to convince him to run.
On Thursday, the senator didn’t just announce that he would not campaign
for a third term but also openly toyed with the idea of launching a third-
party presidential bid, saying he would be “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.”
The pronouncement was a blow for Senate Democrats, whose majority is
already extremely narrow. A White House official said the Biden team’s
attempts to get Manchin to run again were done with an eye on keeping
control of the Senate given that reality.
At the same time, the president’s team is facing an already tricky path to
reelection itself and Manchin has not foreclosed the possibility of
running for the White House.
Manchin is just the latest politician to join the list of those either
running for president as an independent or third-party candidate, or
considering it. Though new polling suggests that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
would largely hurt former President Donald Trump, there has been
widespread fear across the Democratic Party that more liberal candidates
such as Cornel West and Jill Stein could siphon votes away from Biden.
Several Democrats, including people close to the president, concede that
Manchin could pull away some moderate and center-left votes from Biden,
too.
“Any third-party, quote-un-quote unity ticket, a ticket that runs to the
middle, will cut into the Biden coalition,” said Rahna Epting, executive
director of the liberal group MoveOn. “A lot of the folks that turned out
for Joe Biden and against former President Donald Trump, a good portion of
those could be persuaded to vote for a Joe Manchin ticket.”
Manchin’s political future has been the topic of intense interest over the
past few years as he’s increasingly distanced himself from Biden and his
own party. In July, the senator traveled to the early primary state of New
Hampshire for an event with No Labels, a centrist organization that has
floated a plan to launch a third-party presidential ticket. He also spoke
on a call with the group.
The No Labels project, which has won ballot access in a number of states,
has sparked backlash among Democrats, who fear it could spoil Biden’s
chances for reelection. The Biden team’s posture has, so far, been to
largely ignore the organization. Privately, they’ve expressed concerns
that a fractured field would largely benefit Trump, according to multiple
people familiar with the discussions.
“In general, third-party candidates draw from the president,” said Celinda
Lake, a Democratic pollster for Biden’s campaign in 2020. But, she
explained that when it comes to Manchin, the extent to which he’ll impact
Biden depends on “how he runs” and whether he can get onto the ballot.
For now, the Biden campaign has outsourced efforts to undermine No Labels
to allied Democrats under the assumption that taking on the group itself
could give it oxygen, said one person familiar with its thinking.
The White House and campaign aides aren’t panicking about Manchin either.
Some on Biden’s team point to a nonprofit group Manchin recently launched
with his daughter, Americans Together, and believe the senator may travel
under its banner and not enter the 2024 race.
There is a prevailing sentiment that while Manchin may be fond of the
spotlight, he would not risk something that could tarnish his legacy, such
as helping Trump return to office.
But there are concerns among some in Biden world who think Manchin is
clearly considering a presidential run and could further complicate an
already highly unusual election, in which all of the independent
candidates combined could win double-digit support.
Biden praised Manchin in a statement Thursday, saying that “Joe and I have
worked together to get things done for hardworking families.” He cited
their efforts collaborating on the bipartisan infrastructure law, gun
control legislation, and Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in person ahead of his
announcement that he was not running for reelection, according to Manchin
spokesperson Sam Runyon. He also called to tell Ricchetti the news. He has
not spoken to Biden “but appreciated the kind statement” from him, said
Runyon.
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White House tried, and failed, to persuade Manchin to make another Senate
run
A Potentially Decisive Turn in the 2024 Campaign
Manchin’s departure from the Senate is an exceedingly difficult blow for
Democrats, who were facing a difficult cycle already. While the Biden
White House had its share of disagreements with the senator, there was a
universal recognition that he was the rare — perhaps only — Democrat who
could survive in a statewide race in West Virginia.
Jon Kott, a former Manchin adviser, said he believes that Manchin would
have “run circles” around his Republican opponent had he decided to run
for reelection.
Now, however, questions around Manchin turn to whether he will make a
presidential run. Contrary to what some Democrats think, people close to
the senator believe it’s not too late for him to get into the race and
that ballot access wouldn’t be a problem.
But some Democrats argue that Manchin would face trouble getting on the
ballot, though a No Labels ticket could help with that.
No Labels did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a
statement on Thursday, the group said that Manchin is a “a tireless voice
for America’s commonsense majority and a longtime ally of the No Labels
movement,” adding that it will decide by early next year on whether to put
a ticket forward.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left group Third Way, has been
actively involved in the pushback against No Labels. But he said he is not
concerned about Manchin running for president, in part due to press
reports that No Labels is likely to put a Republican on the top of their
ticket.
“I am not alarmed because he’s not going to run on the No Labels ticket in
the No. 2 slot. They’ve said they want a Republican on the top and he’s
nobody’s No. 2,” he said. “And the fact that he’s gonna use his national
platform and his voice while he has it, I think makes sense. I don’t think
there’s any harm in doing that.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/10/biden-manchin-senate-run-00126683
news:r532i7$5ub$2...@esteban.tulanet.com:
> Manchin would kick Biden's ass. He should run.
As Sen. Joe Manchin struggled for several months over the next step he
would take politically, President Joe Biden’s top advisers privately tried
to persuade him to run for another term in the Senate.
Multiple West Wing aides, including senior counselor Steve Ricchetti, and
some outside Biden allies talked with the West Virginia Democrat,
according to two White House officials and another adviser who were
granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the
conversations. Their pitch to Manchin was that, while a reelection bid in
a deep-red state would be difficult, he had a path to victory.
They failed to convince him to run.
On Thursday, the senator didn’t just announce that he would not campaign
for a third term but also openly toyed with the idea of launching a third-
party presidential bid, saying he would be “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.”
The pronouncement was a blow for Senate Democrats, whose majority is
already extremely narrow. A White House official said the Biden team’s
attempts to get Manchin to run again were done with an eye on keeping
control of the Senate given that reality.
At the same time, the president’s team is facing an already tricky path to
reelection itself and Manchin has not foreclosed the possibility of
running for the White House.
Manchin is just the latest politician to join the list of those either
running for president as an independent or third-party candidate, or
considering it. Though new polling suggests that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
would largely hurt former President Donald Trump, there has been
widespread fear across the Democratic Party that more liberal candidates
such as Cornel West and Jill Stein could siphon votes away from Biden.
Several Democrats, including people close to the president, concede that
Manchin could pull away some moderate and center-left votes from Biden,
too.
“Any third-party, quote-un-quote unity ticket, a ticket that runs to the
middle, will cut into the Biden coalition,” said Rahna Epting, executive
director of the liberal group MoveOn. “A lot of the folks that turned out
for Joe Biden and against former President Donald Trump, a good portion of
those could be persuaded to vote for a Joe Manchin ticket.”
Manchin’s political future has been the topic of intense interest over the
past few years as he’s increasingly distanced himself from Biden and his
own party. In July, the senator traveled to the early primary state of New
Hampshire for an event with No Labels, a centrist organization that has
floated a plan to launch a third-party presidential ticket. He also spoke
on a call with the group.
The No Labels project, which has won ballot access in a number of states,
has sparked backlash among Democrats, who fear it could spoil Biden’s
chances for reelection. The Biden team’s posture has, so far, been to
largely ignore the organization. Privately, they’ve expressed concerns
that a fractured field would largely benefit Trump, according to multiple
people familiar with the discussions.
“In general, third-party candidates draw from the president,” said Celinda
Lake, a Democratic pollster for Biden’s campaign in 2020. But, she
explained that when it comes to Manchin, the extent to which he’ll impact
Biden depends on “how he runs” and whether he can get onto the ballot.
For now, the Biden campaign has outsourced efforts to undermine No Labels
to allied Democrats under the assumption that taking on the group itself
could give it oxygen, said one person familiar with its thinking.
The White House and campaign aides aren’t panicking about Manchin either.
Some on Biden’s team point to a nonprofit group Manchin recently launched
with his daughter, Americans Together, and believe the senator may travel
under its banner and not enter the 2024 race.
There is a prevailing sentiment that while Manchin may be fond of the
spotlight, he would not risk something that could tarnish his legacy, such
as helping Trump return to office.
But there are concerns among some in Biden world who think Manchin is
clearly considering a presidential run and could further complicate an
already highly unusual election, in which all of the independent
candidates combined could win double-digit support.
Biden praised Manchin in a statement Thursday, saying that “Joe and I have
worked together to get things done for hardworking families.” He cited
their efforts collaborating on the bipartisan infrastructure law, gun
control legislation, and Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in person ahead of his
announcement that he was not running for reelection, according to Manchin
spokesperson Sam Runyon. He also called to tell Ricchetti the news. He has
not spoken to Biden “but appreciated the kind statement” from him, said
Runyon.
MOST READ
croatia-ukraine-us-29014.jpg
Ukraine to Putin: You cut our power, we kneecap your biggest economic
driver
Shutdown standoff: White House preps for Johnson to fail
‘Travesty in darkness’: Trump backs drive to televise his D.C. election
subversion trial
White House tried, and failed, to persuade Manchin to make another Senate
run
A Potentially Decisive Turn in the 2024 Campaign
Manchin’s departure from the Senate is an exceedingly difficult blow for
Democrats, who were facing a difficult cycle already. While the Biden
White House had its share of disagreements with the senator, there was a
universal recognition that he was the rare — perhaps only — Democrat who
could survive in a statewide race in West Virginia.
Jon Kott, a former Manchin adviser, said he believes that Manchin would
have “run circles” around his Republican opponent had he decided to run
for reelection.
Now, however, questions around Manchin turn to whether he will make a
presidential run. Contrary to what some Democrats think, people close to
the senator believe it’s not too late for him to get into the race and
that ballot access wouldn’t be a problem.
But some Democrats argue that Manchin would face trouble getting on the
ballot, though a No Labels ticket could help with that.
No Labels did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a
statement on Thursday, the group said that Manchin is a “a tireless voice
for America’s commonsense majority and a longtime ally of the No Labels
movement,” adding that it will decide by early next year on whether to put
a ticket forward.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left group Third Way, has been
actively involved in the pushback against No Labels. But he said he is not
concerned about Manchin running for president, in part due to press
reports that No Labels is likely to put a Republican on the top of their
ticket.
“I am not alarmed because he’s not going to run on the No Labels ticket in
the No. 2 slot. They’ve said they want a Republican on the top and he’s
nobody’s No. 2,” he said. “And the fact that he’s gonna use his national
platform and his voice while he has it, I think makes sense. I don’t think
there’s any harm in doing that.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/10/biden-manchin-senate-run-00126683
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