Manchin, at No Labels Event, Won't Rule Out Third-Party 2024 Bid

Joe Manchin, speaking at an event for the No Labels nonprofit Monday in New Hampshire, offered up the latest fodder for the will-he-or-won't-he discussion around the senator and the 2024 presidential race. No Labels, which is starting to worry Democrats who think it could hand the election to Donald Trump, has said it may run a third-party candidate and is looking to qualify for the ballot in every state, but at Monday's event, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory—a national co-chair for the group—said those efforts are an "insurance policy" should it look like the status quo will be maintained (i.e. a Biden-Trump rematch), CNN reports. The group's "first goal," McCrory said, "is to influence the agenda of politicians who are coming to New Hampshire and other states during this primary season."

Even so, Manchin, who is up for re-election for his Senate seat in West Virginia in 2024, would not rule out running on a hypothetical No Labels ticket. He insisted he's not looking to enter the presidential race as a spoiler, however: "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 going to win," he said. Former Utah governor (and past presidential candidate) Jon Huntsman also spoke at the event, and both he and Manchin railed against divisive Washington politics. With No Labels looking to run a bipartisan unity ticket, according to NBC News, media outlets were hinting Manchin, a Democrat, and Huntsman, a Republican, could run together. But both said at the event that such speculation is premature. (More Joe Manchin stories.)