Manchin indicates he won't jump into 2024 presidential contest

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has said that he will not enter the presidential race.

"I will not be seeking a third-party run," he said Friday, noting that he won't be involved in a presidential bid and won't be a "spoiler."

On Thursday, when asked hypothetically who he would choose as a running mate for a presidential bid, Manchin had mentioned Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Manchin, who has been serving as a U.S. senator for more than a decade, announced last year that he would not seek re-election in 2024.

Former President Donald Trump has nearly cleared the field of Republican presidential primary challengers, and while former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley remains in the race, Trump appears to be on track to easily clinch the GOP's 2024 presidential nod.

Incumbent President Joe Biden is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, but the president appears to be on track to secure his party's 2024 nomination.

"The physical and communicative declines I've witnessed over the past few years are the same most Americans are now recognizing," Phillips said in a tweet earlier this month, referring to Biden. "It's sad and troubling, but not unusual for an 81 year-old man. However, I want to make it clear that I have not seen evidence of senility or major cognitive impairment."

"I've long known that President Biden cannot, and must not, serve a second term. Furthermore, the data is consistently showing he's almost certain to be defeated if he tries. Not just to any Republican, but to Donald J Trump," Phillips declared in another post.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a presidential bid as a Democrat last year but later switched to run as an independent candidate.

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