Joe Manchin’s reign is over – with a middle finger to his own party

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy During the dog days of Democrats negotiating President Biden’s doomed Build Back Better legislation in 2021, one reporter asked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about her discussions with Sen Joe Manchin, the mercurial conservative Democrat from West Virginia. Democrats hoped that pleasing him could convince Mr Manchin to seek re-election in a state where Donald Trump won every county, since they faced a tough map where they would be defending eight swing-state seats. When I asked him on Thursday whether Gov Andy Beshear’s victory in Kentucky, a neighbouring heavily working-class white Appalachian state similar to West Virginia, would impact his decision, he flashed a grin and said, “Nothing impacts my decision except my family.” Then, only two hours later, Mr Manchin decided to throw one last middle finger to his party when he announced that he would not seek re-election. On top of that, should Sen Kyrsten Sinema, Mr Manchin’s fellow centrist mischief-maker who left the Democratic Party last year to become an independent, run for re-election, Arizona could see a three-way race between her, Democratic Rep Ruben Gallego and failed Republican gubernatorial candidate and election denier Kari Lake.