Joe Manchin is leaving the Democratic Party amid speculation that he will run for governor of West Virginia

Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday that he has left the Democratic Party to become an independent as many have wondered whether he will run for governor of his home state of West Virginia.

Mr. Manchin was the last Democrat in statewide office, announcing in November that he would not seek re-election. He announced his decision in a statement on Friday.

“Throughout my days in elected office, I have always prided myself on my commitment to common sense, bipartisanship and my desire to bring people together,” he said. “It’s who I am. It’s who I’ll always be. I have never seen America through a partisan lens.”

Mr. Manchin denounced extremism on both sides of the political aisle.

“Today our national politics is fractured and neither side is willing to compromise to find common ground,” he said. “To stay true to myself and committed to putting country before party, I have decided to register as an independent, with no party affiliation, and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.”

He had previously flirted with running for president as an independent or as a candidate through No Labels, a centrist organization that promoted the idea of ​​a bipartisan unity ticket. Some have speculated that Mr. Manchin could run as an independent governor. Within electionsNathan Gonzales indicated on X that non-affiliated candidates must apply before August 1.

But earlier this week he said The Herald-Dispatch he would support Democratic candidate Steve Williams.

Manchin has often been the most conservative senator in the Democratic caucus, alongside Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who became an independent in 2022.

The two have often opposed major spending initiatives, and Mr. Manchin announced on Fox News that he opposed Build Back Better, President Joe Biden’s flagship social spending bill. Mr. Manchin is from West Virginia, a state where every county voted for Donald Trump and has long been dependent on the coal industry.

The two-term governor, who first won his Senate seat in a special election in 2010, co-founded a coal mining company called Enersystems before his time in politics. Many progressive activists accused him of being too friendly to the energy industry that dominated his home state.

Later, Mr. Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer negotiated the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest piece of legislation to combat climate change. But Mr. Manchin often objected to the legislation’s implementation.