A new poll found 16 percent of voters would consider voting for Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) as a third-party presidential candidate, highlighting both public dissatisfaction with the two parties and a potential threat to President Joe Biden’s reelection bid.
The poll, conducted last week by Monmouth University, also found 3 in 10 voters would consider backing a third-party “fusion” option with a Democrat and Republican on the ticket. Sixteen percent said they’d consider backing the ticket if Manchin was the presidential candidate and former Republican Utah governor Jon Huntsman was the vice presidential candidate.
Just 2 percent of those asked said they would definitely support that ticket, and 14 percent said they probably would.
The data comes after Manchin teased a potential run on a “unity ticket” with Huntsman at a No Labels event earlier this month.
“I’ve never spoiled a race,” Manchin said. “If I get into the race, I’m going to win.”
A third-party candidate could threaten Biden’s hopes for reelection. A poll conducted last month found that if Cornel West, a socialist professor who supports reparations, makes it on the ballot, he would garner 6 percent of the vote, which could take enough of Biden’s support to let former president Donald Trump win.
Polling from earlier this year found just 37 percent of Democrats want Biden to serve four more years. Seventy-eight percent of voters said they think Biden should not run again.
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