Joe Manchin announces he will not run for president

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Friday that he is not running for president after spending months mulling a bid that would have shaken up the 2024 campaign.

“I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said during a speech. “I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together.”

Manchin, 76, had said last November that he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat this year, leading to speculation that he would run for the White House as an independent or as a third-party candidate.

Democrats feared a Manchin candidacy would have pulled votes away from President Joe Biden and boost former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, in a general election.

This is a breaking story that will be updated.