Joe Manchin warns Democratic socialists are gaining ground in Democratic Party

Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin warned that Democratic socialists are gaining ground in the Democratic Party while long-time Democrats stay silent, Fox News reported. Speaking on the Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast, Manchin stated that the party has shifted from liberal to progressive and then toward the Democratic Socialists of America. He explained that this political shift was the reason he chose to become an independent. [1]

Manchin served as the Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and represented the state in the United States Senate from 2010 to 2025. He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout his political career until he registered as an independent in 2024. [2]

During his time in the Senate, Manchin frequently broke with fellow Democrats on major legislative issues. His vote proved decisive in a narrowly divided chamber, where he supported the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill but opposed larger social spending packages such as the Build Back Better framework over inflation concerns. In December 2023, he announced that he would not seek reelection to the Senate. [1][4]

The Democratic Party, founded in 1828, sits on the center to center-left of the political spectrum in the United States. It remains one of the two major national political parties alongside the Republican Party. [3]