Progressives look to show Manchin the door with ’24 primary challenge: ‘If he’s a Dem, we’re in trouble’

The Democratic Party has only shifted further into progressivism over the years and with their current “majority” reliant upon tie-breaking votes from Vice President Kamala Harris, leftist activists and strategists are ready to show moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) the door.

“If he’s a Democrat, then we’re in trouble,” said Nina Turner, the national co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign.

It was only a matter of time before the non-negotiable posture of the left forced them to cannibalize their own and Manchin’s desire to seek compromise on President Joe Biden’s key agenda items has thrust the senator to the head of the feeding frenzy. Demonizing the West Virginia lawmaker as the harbinger of global catastrophe may have been enough for the president, allowing him to justify executive action in lieu of omnibus bills like “Build Back Better,” but progressives have an all-encompassing endgame in mind that demands absolute loyalty.

With that in mind, Turner pushed for a challenger against Manchin should he seek reelection in 2024 and said, “Democrats are not pleased with him. He can be challenged and beaten in a primary. If he wants to try and rely on Republicans to re-elect him, then good luck,” according to Fox News.

Before serving as senator, Manchin was the governor of West Virginia where Republicans have won the presidential contest in every election since 2000. In fact, the margin of victory has only grown with then-President Donald Trump taking nearly 70 percent of the vote in 2020 compared to President George W. Bush’s first election where he garnered just over 50 percent.

Knowing that, Turner still insisted, “If he’s a Democrat, then we’re in trouble. We might as well take the risk.”

“This man has been a thorn in the side of not only the White House, but the American people as well,” she went on and added, “West Virginia is one of the poorest states in the nation, yet he stands in the way of legislation that would help working people. He should be primaried for that alone.”

She isn’t alone in this position either as her former boss declared Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) were “intentionally sabotaging the president’s agenda” which progressives used as a rallying cry to promote a primary of the moderate members of the caucus.

Although Sanders may claim these senators’ votes are blocking “what the American people want,” a Morning Consult poll found Manchin is doing right by his constituents with 57 percent of voters approving of his performance, up from 40 percent at the beginning of 2021. That included approval from 69 percent of Republican voters in the state.

Meanwhile, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was considered the most unpopular senator according to the outlet. Democratic political strategist Colin Strother asserted that Manchin was succeeding where McConnell couldn’t and said, “While we need to support all types of diversity in our party, when someone is acting as a de facto agent of the Republican caucus and single-[handedly] stopping good policy that would help all Americans, we have a moral obligation to do something. Joe Manchin is doing what Mitch McConnell cannot do for himself.”

West Virginia-based GOP strategist Greg Thomas saw this for the boon it would be for the Republican caucus going into the critical 2024 elections and stated, “If they want to nominate someone far-left and ensure that seat goes red in two years, we’re all for that.”

As it happens, Manchin announced Monday that he had tested positive for COVID and would “isolate and follow CDC guidelines as I continue to work remotely to serve West Virginians.”

This announcement led one social media user to conclude the absolutist Democrats likely weren’t going to be sending their “thoughts and prayers” the senator’s way.

“Gonna be a lot of people rooting for Joe Manchin to die today. These will be the same people who think they can primary Manchin,” the user wrote. “They are also the same people who don’t realize they’d be handing the senate to McConnell.”

Kevin Haggerty

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