West Virginia U.S Sen. Joe Manchin left the Democratic party on Friday, announcing his new registration as a political independent.
“Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground,” Manchin said in a statement reported by Axios.
“To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.”
Democrats control the Senate by a narrow margin, 51-49, already dependent on independents Krysten Sinema (Arizona), Bernie Sanders (Vermont) and Angus King (Maine).
Previously the only Democrat in statewide elected office in West Virginia, Manchin will retire from the Senate in November. He recently dropped a flirtation with running for president on a third-party ticket but is now widely seen as likely to run for governor of West Virginia—a post he held as a Democrat from 2005 to 2010.
On social media on Friday, amid fierce partisan fallout from Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in New York the day before, Manchin said: “My commitment to do everything I can to bring our country together has led me to register as an independent with no party affiliation.”
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