West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin declined to call himself a Democrat in a television interview Sunday as the party prepares for a difficult battle to hold onto its thin Senate majority in the 2024 election.
Machin refused to directly answer questions about his party affiliation in an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“Do you still identify as a Democrat?” host Maria Bartiromo asked the senator.
“I identify as an American. I’m an American through and through,” Machin responded.
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The moderate, registered Democrat also would not say if he plans to run for reelection next year.
“My main concern is how do we bring this country together? How do we make it work?” he responded to a question about reelection bid.
“How do we make Democrats, Republicans become Americans again, and not just party affiliates?”
Machin has often played a critical role on measures in front of the Senate — acting as a tiebreaker for Democratic legislation and at times voting against his party.
His seat is also crucial in securing the party’s slim 51-49 Senate majority.
Machin represents a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since Bill Clinton. In 2020, West Virginia voted for Donald Trump over Joe Biden by 39 points.