Retiring Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., isn't ruling out a run as an independent candidate in his state's Senate race.
Manchin, 76, told CNN on Thursday that he was approached by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about filing as an independent by the summer deadline in August in an attempt to defeat the likely front-runner, Republican nominee Gov. Jim Justice, in November.
"I think that's a long, long, long-shot scenario," Manchin, a three-term senator, told CNN. "So I don't anticipate that happening. I don't anticipate running."
However, "I don't know if anything in Washington, D.C., is 100%," Manchin said, when asked if that meant the door was completely closed.
Schumer has even floated the scenario to donors, CNN reported. The West Virginia primaries are May 14. Manchin would have until Aug. 1 to file as an independent.
West Virginia most assuredly will flip from blue to red in November, regardless of who comes out of the Democrat primary. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 seat lead in the Senate, with competitive races also set for Arizona (open), Ohio (Sherrod Brown) and Montana (Jon Tester).
The calculus in West Virginia is that if the Democrat nominee ends up being former coal mining executive Don Blankenship, a one-time Republican who spent a year in prison for violating safety standards after a fatal 2010 mine explosion, Manchin could defeat Justice with a plurality, according to CNN.
"I understand the scenario," Manchin told CNN. "I want my state to be represented properly for someone who has a passion for our state. So we just have to see what unfolds. Really — after the primary … it'll tell you a lot more."