Another Senate Dem Signals Openness to Becoming an Independent: ‘We’ll See What Happens’

As the political world digests Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to become a registered independent, questions are swirling about whether Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) will join her.

CNN’s Manu Raju asked the West Virginia senator if he would leave the Democratic Party.

“I’ll look at all of these things. I’ve always looked at all those things, but I have no intention of doing anything right now. Whether I do something later, I can’t tell you what the future is going to bring,” Manchin responded.

He continued, “I’m not a Washington Democrat. I don’t know what else to tell you…And if a Washington independent is — we’ll see what happens there. We’ll have to look.”

“People are registering more for independent than any other party affiliation, they are sick and tired of it,” Manchin added.

That is not a no, but it is also not a yes.

It is more of the ambiguous we have gotten from Manchin over the past

Sinema announced her plan to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent, as IJR reported.

In an op-ed published by The Arizona Republican, Sinema wrote, “Pressures in both parties pull leaders to the edges, allowing the loudest, most extreme voices to determine their respective parties’ priorities and expecting the rest of us to fall in line.”