Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said this week that she would support a potential presidential candidacy of fellow Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) over either former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. The news comes as Manchin considers whether to seek reelection to the Senate or make another political move.
Murkowski said that should there be a candidacy of Manchin against Trump and Biden, the West Virginian “could do the job.”
The Alaska Republican added that she had endorsed Manchin and that he endorsed her in return. Furthermore, Machin campaigned in Alaska on her behalf.
“I am one who doesn’t like to use my vote for the lesser of evils. I want to be proactive in who I think could do the job,” she said.
Murkowski was reelected facing a fellow Republican opponent in 2022 and 2010. In the 2010 race, Murkowski won the three-way race against Republican nominee Joe Miller and Democratic Party nominee Scott McAdams in a write-in campaign.
Murkowksi’s comments also come as Manchin’s candidacy could foster trouble for the Democratic Party. The centrist former West Virginia governor may alienate a considerable demographic from Biden’s 2024 campaign.
A recent Monmouth poll found that a potential Biden lead over Trump shrunk if a ticket of Manchin and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) ran as an independent option.
Monmouth poll, July 12-17, national RVs
Definitely/probably vote for:
Biden 47
Trump 40Biden 37
"Third-party ticket" 30
Trump 28Biden 40
Trump 34
Manchin-Huntsman 16https://t.co/P4HnOyZQdt— Bill Scher (@billscher) July 20, 2023
Manchin would have considerable personal reason to run for president against Biden. The West Virginia Democrat was a key vote in passing Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act bill. However, Manchin has become disillusioned with what he sees as a betrayal of a key tenet of the legislation.
The senator’s office released a statement headlined “The Inflation Reduction Act Betrayal,” which states that “the Biden administration is determined to pursue an ideological agenda rather than confront the clear and present danger that debts and deficits pose to our nation.”
Furthermore, Manchin’s office wrote that “unelected ideologues, bureaucrats and appointees seem determined to violate and subvert the law to advance a partisan agenda that ignores both energy and fiscal security.”
