Joe Manchin Launches New Initiative to Support Independent Candidates

At the age of 78, Joe Manchin is making a return to the political arena.

Nearly 18 months after departing his Senate seat, having grown fed up with the major parties, the former West Virginia lawmaker is introducing the Independent Leadership Council. This new organization aims to recruit and back independent political hopefuls nationwide.

“We’re not trying to start another party,” Manchin explained to CNN during a joint interview with his daughter, who is spearheading 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 officially launched the project on Thursday by gathering various candidates in West Virginia. The attendees featured figures like California Representative Kevin Kiley, a former Republican now seeking reelection as an independent; Seth Bodnar, an independent Senate contender in Montana; Todd Achilles, running independently for the Senate in Idaho; and Michael Bridgford, an independent House candidate from Iowa. The council is additionally looking at races in Washington and Alaska.

This movement emerges amid a period of deepening disillusionment with both major parties. A recent Gallup poll indicates that a record 45% of adult Americans now identify as political independents.

Supporters of independent candidates feel they possess stronger momentum now than in recent history. In multiple states, these candidates are pulling in substantial campaign contributions and forcing major party opponents to take notice. Given the tight margins in both congressional chambers, the Manchins argue that even a single independent legislator could wield massive sway in the upcoming Congress.

“It doesn’t take too many to say, ‘C’mon, people, get your act together,’” Manchin stated. “They can bring them to their knees and make people understand, ‘This is crazy.’”

The father-daughter team noted that the recent summit acts as an initial dialogue. If they choose to endorse these candidates, they are prepared to offer in-person campaigning, fundraising assistance, and grassroots organizing. They believe that electing just one candidate this November could serve as a powerful proof of concept leading into the next presidential cycle.

“Our hope is that this is kind of our pilot, experiment, trying to prove it can be done,” remarked Heather Manchin, a former pharmaceutical executive. “And then I think Katie bar the door if it can be done.”

The organization’s leadership also includes Adam Brandon and Seth Cohen, both senior advisers at the non-partisan Independent Center. Brandon previously led the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks, while Cohen served as the chief impact officer for Forbes Media and advocates for voting access.

Manchin’s disillusionment

This endeavor arguably represents Joe Manchin’s most ambitious political undertaking since retiring from the Senate in January 2025. Frustrated by the polarized extremes of both the left and right, he spent his concluding months in Washington as an independent following decades as a stalwart Democrat.

Post-Senate life for Manchin has included publishing a book, championing his daughter’s centrist organization, Americans Together, and maintaining a presence in the nation's capital. Recently, he participated in a national debt panel hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative policy center, which was moderated by his former colleague, Republican Rob Portman.

“Manchin is sometimes a Democrat, sometimes an independent, sometimes a Republican,” Portman observed during the event. “I just don’t know quite where he is today.”

“I don’t either,” Manchin joked in response.

A vocal critic of the progressive left, Manchin expressed alarm over the success of democratic socialists in Democratic primaries nationwide, attributing it to a party lacking a unifying "national figure." However, he equally criticized the Republican party for bowing to its extremist wing, suggesting that implementing open primaries could remedy these systemic issues.

“When they have closed primaries, what they were able to do is hijack the system,” Manchin argued, referencing the recent New York primary where candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, performed strongly. “They’ve been able to outperform in a closed system.”

Looking at the current composition of the Senate, Manchin expressed regret over the absence of pragmatic deal-makers. He noted a lack of senators willing to say, “C’mon, guys, let’s go talk. Sit this down. Let’s work this out.”

“That bothers me,” he admitted.

Currently, one of the more fiercely independent voices remaining in the Democratic Senate caucus is John Fetterman, whose public grievances with his party have raised the possibility of an exit. When asked if Fetterman should formally become an independent, Manchin stated the Pennsylvania senator “needs to do what John’s comfortable doing.” Yet, he noted that Fetterman, who previously criticized Manchin, operates from a different ideological baseline.

“He’s for all the hardcore Democrat issues that I wasn’t for,” Manchin pointed out.

Although Manchin previously considered a 2024 presidential bid via the centrist No Labels coalition—and admits he misses his Senate “friends”—he appears entirely disinterested in seeking public office again.

“I don’t see me getting back into the fray, I really don’t,” he affirmed. “I think I’ve tried it for 42, 43, 44, years and been fairly successful at working with people on both sides and bringing people together. Now I’m trying to help people around the country that want that same outcome.”

An independent moment

Manchin is instead pouring his energy into supporting independent politicians at a juncture when they boast a high-profile advocate in Congress and competitive candidates across the electoral map.

In California, Representative Kiley is seeking reelection as an independent in a district that leans Democratic, following recent redistricting changes. Kiley, who still caucuses alongside Republicans, will face Democratic challenger Richard Pan in the November general election.

Speaking in an interview, Kiley expressed his desire to help construct a stronger foundation for independent politicians and stated he is “very happy” to collaborate with Manchin.

“He’s someone who demonstrated during his time in office that he was willing to go against both sides when necessary to serve his constituents,” Kiley remarked. “[There are] plenty of policy issues where we came out in different ways, but that’s OK. We need more people like that who are independent-minded.”

Despite the growing enthusiasm for independent campaigns, these candidates still navigate massive structural hurdles, including securing ballot access and generating funds without the backing of a major party apparatus. In Montana, Seth Bodnar is currently in a tense standoff with Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead, who has so far refused calls to exit the race and allow the former University of Montana president a clear shot against Republican nominee Kurt Alme.

A similar dynamic played out in Nebraska, where Democratic Senate hopeful Cindy Burbank suspended her campaign, thereby granting Dan Osborn—who is running independently after a solid 2024 performance—a direct challenge against Republican Senator Pete Ricketts. In Alaska’s single congressional district, independent Bill Hill saw his prospects improve when his primary Democratic rival, pastor Matt Schultz, withdrew and threw his support behind Hill.

Hill, a commercial fisherman and former school superintendent, is currently navigating a packed all-party primary set for August 18, vying for the seat held by Republican Representative Nick Begich.

In a recent interview in Anchorage, fresh off a week fishing salmon in Bristol Bay, Hill detailed his eclectic voting record. He noted past support for Republicans like Senator Lisa Murkowski and the late Senator Ted Stevens. Hill is an advocate for abortion access—a stance typically associated with Democrats—but is simultaneously “pro-Second Amendment because firearms are an important tool for my subsistence lifestyle.”

“Like most Alaskans, I don’t fit into a neat little political box,” he stated, highlighting that roughly two-thirds of Alaskan voters are unaffiliated with a major party. “I’ve been a lifelong independent, and I wouldn’t run otherwise.”

This story has been updated with additional information.