Manchin and his family said in the meetings that the senator was considering three options: running for reelection in West Virginia as an independent, running for president as a No Labels candidate or retiring from politics. Manchin has not decided what path to pursue, but it seemed clear to those he met with that he is likely to leave the Democratic Party if he chooses to stay in politics.

Manchin declined to comment through a spokesperson.

In some of the meetings, Democratic donors strongly urged Manchin to run for reelection in West Virginia, and Manchin said he believed he could win the race but only if he ran as an independent. Manchin has previously said he has considered leaving the Democratic Party, but people familiar with the meetings said Manchin was more adamant than he has been in public about his need to run as an independent to win.

[Manchin will almost certainly lose even if he ran on the Happy Puppies And Daffodils Party line. West Virginia nearly tossed him out five years ago, and that was before Manchin caved on the Biden/Schumer “Inflation Reduction Act,” which hiked deficits, did nothing for inflation, but spent gobs of money on Green New Deal policies and promoted wokery. A No Labels run for president would likely be less embarrassing, but at 75, he’d hardly solve the gerontocracy problem facing America at the moment. — Ed]