Chuck Schumer is managing a razor-thin majority in the Senate.
Just one Senator’s decision could cost him his job.
And Chuck Schumer’s political future flashed before his eyes after he saw this shocking news.
The 2024 election cycle is fast approaching and trouble is on the horizon for Democrats’ tenuous grasp on the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is clinging to a slim majority 51-49 with a difficult Senate map in the next election.
Democrats are defending three Senate seats that are up next year in states that former President Donald Trump easily carried in the 2020 election – West Virginia, Ohio, and Montana.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is the most endangered incumbent in the Senate next year.
West Virginia has become one of the most conservative states in the country and gave Trump a punishing margin of victory of nearly 40 points.
As the last Democrat elected to statewide office, Manchin is the only possible candidate for Democrats that can hold the seat for Schumer in the overwhelming Republican state.
Manchin hasn’t committed to seeking another term but he dropped a hint about his future.
The West Virginia Senator has said that every option is on the table for him next year, including a longshot third party Presidential bid.
He cited his relation with the centrist political group No Labels that is trying to recruit a Presidential candidate to run under their banner next year during an interview with The Hill.
“I’ve been part of No Labels since December of 2010,” Manchin said. “It’s the only game in town that wants to bring people together and get Democrats and Republicans working together.”
When he was questioned about the possibility of running as a No Labels candidate, Manchin said, “people are starving, starving to work together.”
He added that voters are sick of “this constant, daily routine of everyone’s against everybody and everybody’s fighting and arguing.”
“Let’s be for the country and get something done,” Manchin said.
Manchin has refused to shoot down speculation about him mounting a third party Presidential campaign.
He’s stepped up his criticism of Joe Biden this year, including promising to vote to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act that he helped pass because of how it’s being implemented by the President.
A third party Presidential run by Manchin would have no chance of winning, but it would be devastating for Schumer’s chances of holding the Senate.
If Manchin doesn’t seek reelection, Republicans could count on an easy flip in the general election.
He could be looking at an uphill fight to stay in the Senate if he seeks another term.
Already, two strong GOP candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for West Virginia’s Senate race, the establishment choice, Governor Jim Justice, and the grassroots America
First favorite, Rep. Alex Mooney.
Justice, the state’s sitting Governor, is leading Manchin in limited polling of the race and has a higher statewide approval rating than the Senator.
Joe Manchin’s future plans could go a long way to determining which party controls the Senate after the 2024 election.
