Inside Joe Manchin's new quest to elect more Independents to Congress

The former West Virginia senator was a lifelong Democrat before deciding to register as an independent two years ago. He now wants to create similar pathways for other politicians in both parties.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2667+0+0/resize/4000x2667!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff1%2F1f%2Fd20ea7854175ac4b1ead81079717%2Fgettyimages-2033880052.jpg' alt='Former Sen. Joe Manchin, seen here at a Detroit Economic Club meeting in 2024, has launched an effort to elect independents to Congress.'/><p>The former West Virginia senator was a lifelong Democrat before deciding to register as an independent two years ago. He now wants to create similar pathways for other politicians in both parties.</p><p>(Image credit: Jeff Kowalsky)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5906367' />