Manchin and His Daughter Pitch $100M Project for the ‘Politically Homeless’
GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THAT
It’s unclear whether the project, described as an effort to “mobilize the middle,” is meant to be a separate political party or just a support system for more moderate politicians.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his daughter, former pharmaceutical executive Heather Manchin, are pitching major donors on a reported $100 million project to back centrist political policy, according to The Wall Street Journal. Heather Manchin told the newspaper in an interview that she’d registered a political nonprofit organization called Americans Together last month, adding that the effort would be separate from her father’s political endeavors. Americans Together, she said, will be a way to give “the politically homeless a voice.” CBS News confirmed Sen. Manchin’s involvement soon after the Journal’s report on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear whether the organization is intended to serve as a separate political party, lift up Manchin, or back moderate politicians of all stripes. Manchin, a key swing vote, is flirting with both the idea of running for re-election to the Senate as an independent and a long-shot bid for presidential office, according to sources who attended donor meetings. In one meeting, the 76-year-old reportedly said that if he chose the senatorial path, he’d be open to switching between parties—a move that has the potential to upend the chamber’s operation.
