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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently discussed a long-shot idea with Sen. Joe Manchin: Making a late entry into the US Senate race in West Virginia to try to hold on to his seat as an independent.
Manchin, who threw cold water on the idea and is still planning on retiring from the Senate, confirmed to CNN that he’s discussed the last-ditch bid with Schumer. While he said such a campaign is highly unlikely, he pointedly would not rule out changing his mind before the August filing deadline.
“I think that’s a long, long, long-shot scenario,” Manchin said of running as an independent candidate. “So I don’t anticipate that happening. I don’t anticipate running.”
Asked if that meant the door was completely closed: “I don’t know if anything in Washington, DC, is 100%.”
Senate Democratic leaders, facing a daunting Senate map and the near-certainty that the West Virginia seat would flip with Manchin out, would be highly supportive if the conservative Democrat changed his mind. Since Manchin would be a formidable presence in such a race, national Republicans would likely be forced to pour money into West Virginia to flip the seat red and divert resources from other top targets.
Speaking to donors recently, Schumer has even brought up this scenario, according to a person familiar with his remarks.
A Schumer spokesperson declined to comment.
Democratic sources said the idea could gain currency if their party’s nominee in West Virginia ends up being Don Blankenship, the former coal mining executive who served a year in jail after being found guilty of conspiring to violate mine…
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