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Manchin backs independents
Former Senator Joe Manchin is launching the Independent Leadership Council to recruit and support independent candidates for congressional races, and he is doing it with his daughter Heather, according to CNN coverage cited by KVI I and The Hill.
“At 78 years old, Joe Manchin returns to politics”
Manchin said, "We're not trying to start another party," and he added, "We're trying to get a person who can be committed to—and totally committed to—being an independent with an independent voice," as the group convened candidates in West Virginia.
The kickoff meeting included California Representative Kevin Kiley, independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar, and Iowa House candidate Michael Bridgford, with the effort also considering races in Alaska and Washington, as described by KVI I and The Hill.
The Hill reported that Manchin, who left the Democratic Party before retiring from the Senate in 2025, said he has no plans to run for office again while aiming to help candidates willing to work across party lines, and it said the group’s inaugural summit drew prospective candidates and political strategists in the state this week.
Polls and candidate lineup
Newsweek framed the effort against a backdrop of low favorability for both major parties, citing a YouGov and The Economist poll in which the Democratic Party’s net favorability stood at -17 points and the Republican Party’s favorability stood at -19 points.
In that same Newsweek account, the YouGov and The Economist poll found that 37 percent of Americans approve of the Democratic Party and 36 percent approve of the Republican Party, while among independents 24 percent viewed the Democratic Party favorably and 20 percent viewed the GOP favorably.
The Hill said the Independent Leadership Council is focused on building support and infrastructure for candidates running outside the Democratic and Republican parties, and it listed priority states including Alaska, California, Iowa, Montana and Washington.
Newsweek also quoted political science professor Jacob Neiheisel of the University at Buffalo saying, "The support for these independent candidates tends to evaporate when people are in the voting booth," and it added that he described independents as having "a vanishingly small chance of winning" in the midterms.
What’s at stake next
The Hill reported that if the council decides to back candidates, the Manchins said they could campaign alongside them by helping raise money and organize in their districts, while Heather Manchin described the effort as a "pilot experiment" aimed at proving it can be done.
“Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is launching the Independent Leadership Council, a new effort to recruit and support independent candidates across the country, marking his most significant political project since leaving the Senate in January 2025”
Time similarly described the Independent Leadership Council as a project that will recruit and support independent candidates, and it quoted Heather Manchin saying, "Our hope is that this is kind of our pilot, experiment, trying to prove it can be done," as the group launched the initiative with candidates in attendance.
Time also said the Manchins told CNN that if their support can help a candidate win in the November midterms, they might be able to have an impact on the 2028 presidential race, tying the council’s immediate goal to a longer political timeline.
Newsweek added that Manchin is working to give Americans a third option in the November midterm elections through the Independent Leadership Council, and it reported that he met in West Virginia with candidates including Kevin Kiley, Seth Bodnar, and Michael Bridgford as part of the effort to build independent momentum.
