At 78, Joe Manchin is stepping back into politics.
A year and a half after leaving office fed up with the major parties, the former West Virginia senator is launching a new effort, the Independent Leadership Council, to recruit and support independent candidates across the country.
“We’re not trying to start another party,” Manchin told CNN in an interview with his daughter, who’s also leading the council. “We’re trying to get a person who can be committed to – and totally committed to – being an independent with an independent voice. They can vote with Democrats and Republicans when they’re right and speak out against them when they’re wrong.”
Manchin kicked off the effort Thursday by convening candidates in West Virginia. Attendees include California Rep. Kevin Kiley, a former Republican running for reelection as an independent; Seth Bodnar, an independent candidate for Senate in Montana; and Michael Bridgford, an independent candidate for the House in Iowa. The group is also eying races in Alaska and Washington.
The initiative comes at a time of deepening disillusionment with both major parties, and as a record high 45% of American adults identify as political independents, according to a Gallup poll released earlier this year.
