Possibility of Joe Manchin running as a third party growing and causing panic among Democrats

Democrats are growing concerned that Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) could jump into the 2024 presidential race as an independent and take votes away from President Joe Biden next year.

Manchin has been a problem for President Joe Biden and the Democrat Party thanks to his centrist views and open criticism of the Biden administration.

The West Virginia lawmaker has yet to confirm if he will run for reelection next year, prompting serious concern from Democrats. Manchin's indecision could indicate that he is planning to make a run for president under the banner of a third party.

Senator John Hickenlooper told Politico that, "I have advised him against it. I think it would be a terrible idea. It would help Donald Trump."

A Scott Rasmussen National Survey of the 2024 presidential election found that if Manchin ran for president, 12% of survey respondents would vote for him. A sizeable chunk of those voters would be Democrats taking valuable votes away from Biden.

A statement from Rasmussen explained that the possibility of Manchin running would "marginally hurts Biden more than the Republicans," which explains why Democrats are seriously worried about Manchin going rogue.