Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin ducked a question regarding a possible presidential run during a Monday town hall hosted by a moderate political group.
Manchin, who was joined by former Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah at the town hall in New Hampshire, was asked by Scripps News correspondent Kevin Cirilli if he would consider Huntsman as a potential running mate in 2024. Manchin, who narrowly won re-election in 2018 against Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrissey, has angered left-wing Democrats with his defense of the filibuster and opposition to some of Biden’s nominees. (RELATED: ‘Stupidest Thing Ever’: ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Attack Moderate Group For ‘Peeling Away’ Anti-Trump Voters)
“Jon is my dear friend, okay?” Manchin said, drawing laughter from the crowd. “I think people are getting ahead… they are putting the cart ahead of the horse.”
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Huntsman ran for president in 2012, but lost the nomination to Mitt Romney. Romney eventually lost the general election to President Barack Obama.
Manchin currently is up for re-election in 2024, and will likely face either Republican Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia or Republican Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia. Justice leads Manchin by 22 points, according to a poll by East Carolina University.
Manchin declined to endorse Biden for re-election in July 2022 while on a podcast with Chris Cuomo. He has refused to rule out the possibility of a third-party run.
“If Joe Biden runs again and he is the Democratic nominee, depending on who the Republican nominee is, we will just have to wait and see,” Manchin said, according to WBOY.
Liberals have fretted that a Manchin third-party run could hand the 2024 election to Donald Trump.
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