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Retiring Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Friday he has left the Democratic Party.
“My commitment to do everything I can to bring our country together has led me to register as an independent with no party affiliation,” Manchin said in a post on X.
“Frommyfirstdayinpublicservicein1982,Ihavealwaysfocusedondoingwhat’sbestformystateandmycountry,withoutregardtopartyorpolitics.Throughoutmydaysinelectedoffice,Ihavealwaysbeenproudofmycommitmenttocommonsense,bipartisanshipandmydesiretobringpeopletogether.It’swhoIam.It’swhoIwillalwaysbe.IhaveneverseenAmericathroughapartisanlens,”Manchinsaidinastatement.
“However,sincebecomingaUnitedStatesSenatorin2010,IhaveseenboththeDemocratandRepublicanpartiesleaveWestVirginiaandourcountrybehindforpartisanextremismwhilejeopardizingourdemocracy,”hecontinued.“Today,ournationalpoliticsarebrokenandneitherpartyiswillingtocompromisetofindcommonground.Tostaytruetomyselfandremaincommittedtoputcountrybeforeparty,Ihavedecidedtoregisterasanind
