Joe Manchin Is Donald Trump's Biggest Threat: Poll

Senator Joe Manchin poses the greatest threat to former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, according to a new poll.

Manchin's announcement last week that he will not seek reelection to the Senate sparked speculation that the West Virginia Democrat might run for president, either challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination or running as a third-party candidate.

Manchin has previously attended events hosted by No Labels, a centrist political group that has reportedly mulled running a moderate candidate to challenge the eventual Democratic and Republican candidates. Political observers have long viewed Manchin, a centrist who often bucked his party on key legislation, as a potential No Labels contender, though Manchin has not said he intends to run for president.

A Fox News poll released Thursday showed that Manchin might be the Democrat with the greatest chance of beating Trump.

The hypothetical polling pit Trump against several Democrats who have been named as potential presidential candidates—Biden, Manchin, Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom. The poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters from November 10 to 13.

Manchin emerged as the Democrat able to make the closest race against the former president, though Trump still held a single-point lead over him, the poll found.

In that matchup, 47 percent of voters said they would vote for Trump, while 46 percent said they would support Manchin.

Here is a look at how other Democrats fared in a matchup against Trump in the poll.

• Biden, widely seen as the front-runner to win the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, received support from 46 percent of the poll's respondents, while 50 percent said they would vote for Trump.
• Forty-five percent of voters would vote for Harris, while 50 percent would back Trump in that head-to-head.
• Whitmer managed to fare second best, winning support from 46 percent of respondents compared to Trump's 48 percent.
• Newsom won the backing of 45 percent of the poll's respondents, while 49 percent said they would vote for Trump.

Newsweek reached out to Manchin's political team and the Trump campaign via email for comment.

Notably, none of the candidates included in the poll have announced plans to challenge Biden for the party's nomination. Author Marianne Williamson and Representative Dean Phillips are the only two Democrats to announce campaigns but have polled far behind Biden in most polls.

Manchin's supporters point to his electoral record as to why he may be a strong candidate against Trump. Despite representing deeply conservative West Virginia, Manchin won reelection by nearly three percentage points in the 2018 midterm elections. Trump won the state by nearly 40 points in 2020.

It remains to be seen whether Democratic voters would support Manchin, who often found himself at odds with the party's more liberal voter base. For instance, he opposed key elements of Biden's infrastructure plans, preventing them from passing in the closely divided Senate, enraging many Democratic voters.