Democratic Sen. Joseph “Joe” Manchin III of West Virginia announced on Friday that he will not run for president in the 2024 election after previously courting speculation that he would mount a third-party bid.

Manchin, who is not seeking re-election to the Senate in 2024, has long been speculated as a third-party candidate for president due to his moderate and some conservative political positions as a Democrat, particularly for the new political party “No Labels.” On Friday, at an event in Morgantown, West Virginia, as part of his listening tour, Manchin said that he would not seek the presidency in 2024. (RELATED: Joe Manchin Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection In 2024)

“I will not be seeking a third-party run,” Manchin remarked at the event, according to The New York Times. “I will not be involved in a presidential run.”

I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do – lowering healthcare costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order. But make no mistake, I will win any race I enter.

— Joe Manchin (@JoeManchinWV) April 27, 2023

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the leading candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations respectively, which would mean that 2024’s election has the same duo of major party candidates as 2020’s election. That fact has attracted several third-party and independent candidates to the race, such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornel West.

Manchin had previously entertained a presidential run under the “No Labels” banner and attended several events with the group in battleground states. He had also reportedly asked Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, a moderate member of the GOP who has vociferously criticized Trump, whether Romney would be willing to be his running mate, though Romney declined.

Manchin previously served as the governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010. He ran for a special election to the Senate seat held by the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history, who held several powerful roles and brought much federal money to the state.

Another prominent politician affiliated with No Labels, former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, who was also courted for a presidential run, has since disaffiliated with the group. Hogan is now running for the Senate in Maryland.

Statement from No Labels National Co-Chairs Sen. Joe Lieberman, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., and Gov. Pat McCrory:

“No Labels has spent 14 years working to create a movement for America’s commonsense majority and we welcome Senator Manchin’s efforts to strengthen it.

No Labels…

— No Labels (@NoLabelsOrg) February 16, 2024

Manchin currently chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, with his term of office expiring on Jan. 3, 2025. His retirement from the Senate has been attributed to the strong lead of Republican Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a current candidate for the seat, and his Democratic affiliation, with the state having a Cook Partisan Voting Index Score of R+22.

In a video announcing his retirement, Manchin indicated that he had accomplished his goals during his political career.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country…I made a vow to serve all the people, friend or foe, and not just myself…I believe in my heart of hearts, that I have accomplished what I set out to do in West Virginia,” Manchin said. He added that he would be “traveling the country, and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle, and bring Americans together.”

Manchin’s moderate voting record has often frustrated Democratic policy initiatives in the Senate. His opposition to the Biden-backed “Build Back Better Act” led to the defeat of the policy in an evenly divided Senate, and he voted against a bill to codify the Supreme Court’s holding Roe v. Wade, citing his anti-abortion views.

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