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The Democrat Party narrowly claimed a Senate majority this week with the reelection of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., but it looks like that slim victory could be in jeopardy. On Friday, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced that she would be leaving the Democrat Party and had registered as an Independent, as reported by RSBN.
She explained her departure from the Democrat Party in an op-ed, noting that “Arizonans – including many registered as Democrats or Republicans – are eager for leaders who focus on common-sense solutions rather than party doctrine.”
Her ideological realignment puts pressure on Senate Democrats, bringing their majority to the razor’s edge. However, an article from Newsweek pointed out that some people are wondering if West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) will also depart from the Democrat Party, following Sinema’s lead.
Manchin, who has been historically moderate as a Democrat senator, would upset the balance of power in the Senate if he were to defect from his party. This would be good news for Republicans, who recently lost out on sending Herschel Walker to D.C. as a senator from the Peach State.
Conservative filmmaker and author Dinesh D’Souza commented on Twitter, “Joe Manchin is next, except he should go the whole hog and become a Republican #sinema @Sen_JoeManchin”
ACT for America founder Brigitte Gabriel added to the conversation, quipping, “Is Joe Manchin next?”
President Trump has even previously remarked that Joe Manchin “should have been brought into the Republican Party long ago,” via RSBN.
In a series of statements made in September, Trump blamed Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for driving Manchin to help Democrats waste “trillions” of dollars.
“When people ask, ‘What happened to Joe Manchin, why did he go off the rails?’ The answer is very simple—Mitch McConnell forced his hand by saying that Manchin was weak and ineffective and that he, McConnell, had him totally under control,” he wrote.