Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Sunday he believes that a third-party presidential run by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in 2024 would take more voters from former President Donald Trump than from President Joe Biden.
In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet The Press,” Murphy touched on topics ranging from the need to avoid a government shut-down amid international crises to his confidence in the Democratic party. He also said he thinks Manchin would pull more votes from Trump than from Biden with a hypothetical third-party run in 2024.
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Manchin announced this week that he would forgo running for reelection. Instead, he said he would travel the country in an effort to bring unity to a deeply divided American political climate.
Manchin is one of the most bipartisan lawmakers in today’s divided climate, according to the Common Ground Committee.
“I like Joe a lot. He’s been really critical to many of the successes that we’ve had in the United States Senate over the last two years,” Murphy said.
“I’m not terribly worried about him running as a third-party candidate. If he does, he probably draws more votes from Donald Trump than he does from Joe Biden.”
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If Murphy’s prediction comes true, it could give Biden a critical boost in what would be a tight rematch if Biden and Trump face off again for the presidency.
A recent CNN poll showed Biden trailing Trump in the general election by a slim margin. Just over half the country said they would not vote for Biden, and he garnered 45% support among registered voters in a hypothetical general election. Trump received 49% support.