Joe Manchin blames 'void of leadership' in Democratic Party for rise of socialists, urges separation

WASHINGTON, DC: Former independent Sen Joe Manchin on Sunday, July 5, said that the Democratic Party is facing a "void of leadership," arguing that the absence of a clear leader has fueled the rise of Democratic socialist candidates who are unseating establishment Democrats.

He suggested that candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America should form their own political party instead of remaining within the Democratic Party.

Joe Manchin urges Socialists to form separate party

In a conversation with radio host John Catsimatidis on his show 'Cats Roundtable', Manchin talked about the recent socialist wins in states like New York and Colorado, attributing the wins to a lack of establishment leadership.

“When there’s a void of leadership, you see what happens,” Manchin said. “They don’t know who the leader is, and you’ve got all of these young, aggressive people who are excited. They’re involved. They associate themselves with the socialist party.”

Offering a solution to the rising socialist and moderate divide, Manchin suggested these candidates form a separate political party associated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

“The two main parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, are now reaping what they sowed, which is total control basically by aggressive zealots on the extremes,” Manchin said.

Joe Manchin accuses Democrats of misplaced priorities

The politician, who left the Democratic Party in 2024 to register as an independent, criticized the party’s leadership.

“The Democrat Party of Washington DC spends more time and effort and resources on able-bodied, capable people that don’t work and won’t work than those of us who do,” Manchin said. “As far as we’re concerned, we’re done.”

Manchin's remarks came after Rep Lauren Boebert (R-Colo) claimed Democrats are "taking out their own" following Democratic Socialists of America member Milat Kiros's victory over longtime Rep Diana DeGette (D-Colo) in this week's Democratic primary.

“Milat is not lying. She wants socialism. She wants more of it, a lot of it, and she’s very proud to say it,” Boebert told NewsNation last week.

“And so now the pretend-to-be-normal Democrats that people like myself and Gabe Evans in Colorado are running against, well, this is their party, and this is what we are running against as well,” she added.

Sports broadcaster Stephen A Smith this week questioned whether Democratic socialist candidates can deliver victories for the Democratic Party in the November general election.