Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and his daughter, former Fortune 500 CEO Heather Manchin, have pitched major donors on a $100 million project aimed at boosting centrist policies and politicians, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.
Heather Manchin told the WSJ she registered the politically active nonprofit, called Americans Together, in late July and plans on hiring staff in the coming weeks. She said the group would not be linked to the West Virginia senator’s political future, which has been uncertain as he faces the end of his six-year term as senator in 2024.
“What we both very much agree on is the system is very broken and actually in deep trouble,” Heather Manchin told the WSJ. “We have been thinking about what can be done to bring people together.”
Manchin has left the door open to various avenues for his political career as he considers whether to run for reelection, potentially in a matchup against West Virginia’s popular Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who announced his Senate run in April.
In a May poll, Justice led Manchin 54 percent to 32 percent in a hypothetical matchup. The poll showed a closer hypothetical matchup against Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va), a candidate more closely aligned with former President Trump also running for Manchin’s seat.
Manchin has also suggested he may leave the Democratic party and become an independent, and he has even toyed with the possibility of running for the White House.
The WSJ spoke with several major donors who said they discussed the proposal with the Manchins, but said the Manchins have not made any specific requests and that donor meetings have consisted of “a vaguely defined future.”
According to a memo to potential donors that the WSJ viewed, the project was described as a coalition that would “mobilize the middle,” and “change the national narrative and garner support for those willing to prioritize policy and country over party and politics.”
It was not immediately clear how Americans Together would distinguish itself from groups like No Labels, which also promotes centrist candidates and policies. The senator has appeared at events hosted by No Labels, but Heather Manchin said the two groups are not affiliated.