Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has announced a new political initiative aimed at electing independent candidates to Congress, marking his latest move since leaving office approximately eighteen months ago. Working alongside his daughter Heather Manchin, he is launching the Independent Leadership Council, which combines her Americans Together organization with the Independent Center, a nonprofit focused on independent voters and political reform.
Heather Manchin stated the effort is not intended to create a third party but rather to support candidates running outside the two-party system. She noted that independent candidates currently face significant infrastructure disadvantages compared to major party candidates. The initiative was unveiled at a gathering of roughly 40 attendees at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, where eight independent candidates met with high-profile donors and political reform advocates to discuss fundraising and campaign strategies.
According to organizers, the effort will utilize data and artificial intelligence technology to identify congressional districts where independent candidates have the strongest prospects of winning. Adam Brandon, a senior adviser at the Independent Center and co-founder of the council, stated that fundraising commitments have exceeded eight figures. Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who left the Republican Party to become an independent, attended the gathering and argued that independents could reduce partisan gridlock and polarization in Congress.
The Manchins indicated they are pursuing a selective strategy, aiming to elect a limited number of candidates rather than mounting a broad campaign. Joe Manchin emphasized that candidates participating in the effort have signed a “Declaration of Independents” pledging to remain outside both major parties if elected. A significant element of the initiative involves preventing elected independents from immediately caucusing with Democrats or Republicans once in office, as some current independent senators do.
According to polling data cited in the article, 45 percent of Americans identified as independents in 2025, while exit polls from 2024 showed 34 percent of voters identified as independent, up from 26 percent in 2020.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI