Ex-Sen. Manchin, AOC head to Maine for dueling roles in deadlocked Senate race
by Susan Ferrechio · The Washington TimesFormer Sen. Joe Manchin III, a longtime Democrat who left his party to become an independent, will campaign for Republican Sen. Susan Collins this week in Maine’s deadlocked Senate race.
Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will follow him there. The socialist superstar and potential 2028 presidential candidate will stump this week for Ms. Collins’ opponent, Democrat Troy Jackson.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Mr. Jackson will headline a “Students vs. Billionaires Town Hall,” at the State Theatre in Portland on Thursday.
People were interested in these podcasts
A source familiar with the matter told The Washington Times that Mr. Manchin will appear at an event with Ms. Collins on Wednesday in Androscoggin County, Maine.
Ms. Collins, 73, who is seeking a sixth term, is tied in the polls with Mr. Jackson.
She’s running as a moderate Republican and promoting a record of accomplishments, among them bringing $1.5 billion in federal funding to the state through her position chairing the Appropriations Committee and bringing Defense contracts to the state’s shipyard in Bath which have maintained hundreds of jobs.
Mr. Jackson, 58, is running to expand the social welfare network for the state’s working class, who he said are struggling to pay the bills and have been left behind by the Republican Party.
He backs many of the far-left programs embraced by Ms Ocasio-Cortez, including Medicare for All, which would eliminate private health insurance and force everyone into a government-run system.
Advertisement Advertisement
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 37, is reportedly weighing whether to run for president in 2028 or challenge Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, 75, in New York’s Democratic Senate primary.
Her stop in Maine is part of a get-out-the-vote swing for some of the midterm election’s most liberal candidates.
She campaigned across Michigan earlier this month for Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is running neck-and-neck in polls against Republican Mike Rogers. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez this week transferred $1 million from her own war chest to Mr. El-Sayed’s campaign.
Mr. Manchin, 79, said he is hitting the ground in Maine for his old Senate colleague to send voters the message that Ms. Collins hasn’t been a rubber stamp for President Trump, who has mixed approval ratings in the state.
Mr. Manchin represented West Virginia in the Senate from 2010 until 2025. His state backed Mr. Trump by double digits in the past three elections.
Advertisement Advertisement
Mr. Manchin and Ms. Collins often worked across the aisle on bipartisan legislation before he retired last year.
Mr. Manchin has kept a low profile since leaving Congress.
In May of 2024, he announced his exit from the Democratic Party and filed as an independent. Mr. Manchin continued to caucus with the Democrats during his final months in the Senate, but was considered the caucus’s most conservative member.
His name surfaced in 2024 as a possible independent presidential candidate but he ultimately remained on the sidelines. He launched the Independent Leadership Council, a non-profit group that recruits and backs independent congressional candidates.
Advertisement Advertisement
In an interview last month on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in August, Mr. Manchin denounced the two-party system, which he said “has drowned out everything” and makes it impossible for independent candidates to gain access to the ballot in all 50 states. He acknowledged the high cost of groceries and energy but said he would not support socialist candidates.
“How could you support some of the crazy stuff they’re for? Have you seen their platform?” Mr. Manchin said.
Contact the author
Susan Ferrechio
sferrechio@washingtontimes.com
Follow author updates Follow Click to follow. Manage followed authors