Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and his daughter, Heather Manchin, say they could never support a Democratic Socialist candidate for office. The two appeared Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation to promote their effort to elect candidates who would remain independent of both major political parties.
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Manchin, a longtime centrist Democrat who registered as an independent in 2024 before leaving the Senate, is working with his daughter through the newly launched Independent Leadership Council. The group plans to recruit and support a small number of congressional candidates who would not caucus with either Republicans or Democrats.
Manchin was long courted by the Republican Party, but complained it has been overtaken by the MAGA movement. He said Democratic Socialists of America candidates are gaining strength within the Democrat Party, leaving moderate and independent voters without meaningful representation.
According to the Face the Nation transcript, host Margaret Brennan asked Heather Manchin whether their organization could ever support a self-described socialist candidate. Both father and daughter immediately said no.
“No way. My God, no. I support the good ideas, but how could you support some of the crazy stuff they’re for?” Joe Manchin said.
He went on to accuse socialist candidates of supporting the dismantling of established government institutions and opposing the police. He argued that Democrats should be willing to defend law enforcement, border security, national defense and domestic energy production.
We want a crime-free area. We have to have police for that. We want a strong defense; we want a strong border. I support the good ideas, but how could you support some of the crazy stuff they’re for? Have you seen their platform? They’re for just dismantling everything that we know, whether it be the- whether it be the structure of government, Congress itself, or the Senate, they want to get rid of. And then they start talking about all the crazy things. No police, no this, no this, no that. Are you crazy? We want- we want a crime-free area. We have to have police for that.
Heather Manchin, the CEO of Americans Together, questioned why Democratic leaders have been unwilling to reject socialist candidates and their platforms outright.
Control has now completely outweighed character. If you’re more interested in control, and that’s all that matters, your vote count, versus the character…
She said the party’s desire to maintain political control has become more important than the character of its candidates or the policies on which they are running.