Joe Manchin Launches Group to Bankroll Independent Congressional Candidates

Joe Manchin is back in the political game, minus the party label.

The former West Virginia senator, who quit the Democratic Party before retiring in 2024, is launching the Independent Leadership Council. The goal, according to Semafor: elect independent candidates to Congress, starting with competitive seats this election cycle.

"We're trying to build a true independent network," Manchin told Semafor. "Not a third party, but a movement of people that will bring our country and the people who are participating in politics today more towards the center."

Who's Actually Getting Money

The council merges two existing operations. One is Americans Together, run by Manchin's daughter Heather, a former pharmaceutical executive. The other is Independent PAC, led by Adam Brandon, the former president of FreedomWorks, a group with deep roots in the conservative Tea Party movement.

Brandon spent years building conservative grassroots infrastructure. Now he's teaming with a Manchin-family operation to fund candidates who won't wear either party's jersey.

According to Hindustan Times, citing CNN, the initial slate includes California Rep. Kevin Kiley, a former Republican now seeking reelection as an independent, Montana Senate candidate Seth Bodnar, and Iowa House candidate Michael Bridgford. Semafor also named Alaska's Bill Hill, who has Democratic support, as one of the group's picks. The council is reportedly eyeing additional races in Alaska and Washington state.

Most of the candidates gathered in West Virginia this past weekend to meet with donors and strategists, according to both Semafor and Hindustan Times.

The Math Behind the Bet

Heather Manchin called the effort a "pilot project, an experiment to demonstrate its feasibility," according to CNN as reported by Hindustan Times. If it works for even one candidate, she said, "I believe there will be no limits to what can be achieved."

The strategic logic is simple. Congress is closely divided in both chambers. A handful of independents holding the balance of power could force compromise on spending, immigration, or whatever else gets stuck in partisan gridlock.

"It doesn't take too many to say, 'C'mon, people, get your act together,'" Manchin said, according to CNN. "They can bring them to their knees and make people understand, 'This is crazy.'"

A single independent senator who won't caucus with either party can, in theory, hold up committee assignments, block a majority leader's agenda, or force floor votes that leadership wants buried. Manchin himself used exactly that kind of leverage as a Democrat who refused to fall in line on issues like the filibuster and Build Back Better.

Reading the Polling Behind This

Hindustan Times points to a Gallup poll from earlier this year showing a record 45% of American adults now identify as independents. Voters souring on both parties isn't a fringe sentiment—it's the plurality position in the country right now.

But identifying as independent and actually voting for a candidate with no party machine behind them are two very different things. Most self-described independents still vote reliably for one party or the other come November. The Manchin group is betting that frustration is deep enough this cycle to translate into actual ballots for unaffiliated candidates in specific districts.

What's Unproven Here

Nobody has released a dollar figure for how much the Independent Leadership Council plans to spend, or how much money Brandon's Independent PAC has already raised. None of the three source reports include fundraising totals, so any number floated elsewhere should be treated as unconfirmed until the group or its candidates file disclosures.

It's also unclear whether the council intends to formally endorse candidates or simply convene meetings. Hindustan Times reported that the Manchins said the West Virginia summit was meant to "initiate a dialogue" with candidates, and that formal campaigning, fundraising, and organizing support would only come if they choose to endorse afterward. A pilot project with no binding commitments is a much smaller story than a fully funded independent campaign infrastructure.

The strongest skeptical case here is straightforward: third-party and independent efforts in American politics have a long history of generating buzz and then fading, because ballot access laws, name recognition, and the two-party grip on committee structures in Congress make it brutally hard for outsiders to win, let alone govern. Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, and a string of independent Senate bids show the pattern. Manchin's own bet is that a closely divided Congress changes the payoff even for one or two wins, but that thesis hasn't been tested yet.

The next concrete marker will be whether the council actually opens its checkbook and which of Kiley, Bodnar, Bridgford, or Hill see real ad spending and field staff show up in their districts before November. Until that money moves, this is a meeting in West Virginia and a headline.