Former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has launched a new political initiative aimed at recruiting and supporting independent candidates seeking seats in Congress.
The Independent Leadership Council, which Manchin is running with his daughter Heather Manchin, will provide support to candidates who choose to campaign outside the Democratic and Republican parties.
The initiative was formally launched at an event on Thursday attended by several candidates, including California Representative Kevin Kiley. Kiley previously identified as a Republican but is now seeking re-election as an independent.
Manchin, 78, said the project was not intended to create another political party.
“We’re not trying to start another party,” he told CNN. Instead, he said the goal was to support candidates who could maintain an independent voice, work with Democrats and Republicans when they believed they were right, and oppose them when they were wrong.
The Manchins said the council could provide backing in areas including campaigning, fundraising and grassroots organising. They hope that helping independent candidates win congressional races in the November midterm elections could demonstrate that candidates outside the two-party system can succeed.
Heather Manchin described the effort as a pilot project designed to test whether the approach could work and potentially influence the 2028 presidential race.
The council’s website describes the initiative as an effort to address what it sees as growing political division in the United States. It argues that long-running partisanship has created a divide that many Americans did not seek and calls for a political path that gives elected officials greater freedom to serve voters rather than party organisations.
Joe Manchin served in the US Senate for more than a decade and spent most of his political career as a centrist Democrat. He frequently broke with Democratic colleagues on issues including climate policy and tax increases on wealthy Americans.
He left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent in 2024, shortly before the end of his Senate career. At the time, Manchin said both major parties had moved away from compromise and that he wanted to remain committed to putting the country before party politics.
His new initiative comes as dissatisfaction with both major parties remains high. A Gallup poll released in May found that majorities of American adults held unfavourable views of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Gallup polling released in January also found that 45 per cent of Americans identified as independents in the previous year, the highest level recorded in the poll’s history.
The Independent Leadership Council will now focus on identifying candidates and determining which campaigns it may support as the midterm elections approach.
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