Senator Manchin Rules Out Presidential Run After Biden Exits

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia ruled out rejoining the Democratic Party to vie for its presidential nomination after President Joe Biden announced he would drop out of the race.

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“I’m not running for office,” Manchin told CBS News early Monday. “I’m not going to be a candidate for president. I don’t need that in my life.”

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The senator, who left the Democratic party and registered as an independent earlier this year, has called for a contest for the nomination.

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Sunday, a former Manchin aide said the senator was “seriously considering” running as a Democrat. Manchin himself didn’t rule out a run when asked about the prospect in an interview with CNN early Monday.

But he acknowledged it would be difficult for anyone but Vice President Kamala Harris to secure a spot at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“It’s almost impossible for anybody at this point in time once it’s been anointed,” he said on CNN.

But he stopped short of endorsing her, as many Democrats in the Senate already have. “I want to see what her platform is and her positions. I want to see where she ends up on that, which I think is rational,” he said on MSNBC.

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Harris, 59, was endorsed by Biden minutes after he announced he would not seek reelection, and moved rapidly to rally key party members behind her bid.

(Updates with comments on Harris in eighth paragraph.)

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