Manchin launches effort to elect independent candidates to Congress

Former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is returning to politics by announcing a new organization aimed at recruiting and electing independent candidates to Congress.

Manchin, 78, launched the Independent Leadership Council (ILC), which is focused on building support and infrastructure for candidates running outside the Democratic and Republican parties in congressional races. He’ll lead the group alongside his daughter Heather Manchin, a former pharmaceutical executive.

“We’re not trying to start another party,” Joe Manchin said in an interview with CNN. “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, who left the Democratic Party before retiring from the Senate in 2025 after decades as a Democrat, told CNN he has no plans to run for office........

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