Sen. Joe Manchin's planned trip to a "No Labels" event in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire has some Democrats worried he could mount a "spoiler" reminiscent of late Texas industrialist Ross Perot in 1992.
Manchin, D-W. Va, who has not yet announced his official intent to run for re-election in 2024, is seen as one of the last 20th century-style moderates in the caucus.
The senator recently told reporters his participation at the event is not a formal indication of third-party intentions, However, he later added that he's "never ruled out anything or [ruled] in anything... this is strictly a conference we're having."
He also rejected claims he will be akin to Perot, whose right-leaning populist campaign siphoned votes from the GOP nominee President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
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"Then how did Perot get Bill Clinton elected?" Manchin asked in an interview with Politico when confronted with that assumption.
Manchin's town hall comes as a scion of possibly the most famous Democratic Party family in history, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., watches support for his once-ignored primary challenge to President Biden grow by the week.
Kennedy has made the rounds on podcasts with Joe Rogan and Bill Maher, drawing parallels between his embrace of the somewhat novel medium and that of his uncle John F. Kennedy's embrace of then-fledgling television platform in 1960.
For Manchin, should he run for re-election to the U.S. Senate, observers note the road may be particularly tough in a state where former President Donald Trump won by about 40 points, and where the popular incumbent governor, Jim Justice, began his tenure in office as a Democrat but switched to the GOP while embracing Trump.
Justice and Rep. Alex X. Mooney, R-W.V., a former Maryland GOP chairman, are currently vying to be the challenger for Manchin's seat.
The Mountain State is a key example of the shift among working-class Appalachian and Midwestern voting blocs once reliably Democratic – as Manchin served as governor, and former Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV and Robert Byrd were two key Democratic legislators for decades there – now flip to reliably Republican strongholds.
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On "America Reports," former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany commented on the situation, reporting that while 6% of the electorate supported a third-party candidate in 2016, only 2% did in 2020 – with the suggestion being that the missing 4% went for Biden.
"So [a Manchin presidential bid] ends up in my view benefiting Republicans," she said. "No Labels says, 'Look, we're not going to be a spoiler here. We're only going to do this if we think there's a way to actually prevail'."
"So whether they put someone on the ballot, we'll see. They've got to get access to ballots in all 50 states. They say they have the ability to do that."
The group No Labels lists Democratic-turned-Independent former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman as its founding chairman, and a handful of moderate political figures like ex-Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, ex-North Carolina Republican Gov. Patrick McCrory and former NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Chavis as its national co-chairs.
However, one former top House Democrat – ex-House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo. – will reportedly launch an effort to blunt a No Labels bid, should one materialize, according to the Washington Post.
A former Jimmy Carter aide told the Post "No Labels equals Trump," while Lincoln Project member and former Romney-2012 strategist Stuart Stevens will join Gephardt's effort, the paper reported.
Earlier this year, Lieberman told Fox News Digital that Manchin, Hogan and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are all "very active members of No Labels" and "would be naturals to consider" for a potential candidate to coalesce around.
Hogan – who left office as Maryland's only second two-term Republican governor after Gov. Theodore McKeldin in the 1950s – told Fox News in March the GOP must return to "Reagan"-esque principles and politics to win elections. He formally announced at the time he would decline to seek the Republican presidential nomination.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
