Manchin Endorses Murkowski, Says He Would Back Her 2022 Reelection Bid ‘In a Heartbeat’

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who endorsed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in 2020, is once again stumping for a Republican Senator.

During a rare joint interview for Politico’s Deep Dive podcast with the U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Manchin said he would her reelection bid in 2022 “in a heartbeat.”

Former President Donald Trump has said he’ll back her challenger, former Alaska Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka.

Tshibaka released a statement after the news and wondered if U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) might be the next to endorse Murkowski.

“The Swamp protects its own & Manchin knows Murkowski is more like him than Alaskans she’s forgotten about,” Tshibaka said in the statement.

Tshibaka accused the two of being “birds of a feather flocking together” and that they both voted “To remove Trump after he was gone, to keep Obamacare, and for amnesty for illegal immigrants.”

.@KellyForAlaska:

"The Swamp protects its own & Manchin knows Murkowski is more like him than Alaskans she’s forgotten about."

Like Manchin, Murkowski voted:

To remove Trump after he was gone
To keep Obamacare
For amnesty for illegal immigrants

Bernie endorsing next? https://t.co/2h8dVQG5Lj pic.twitter.com/oPNvwzJuYW

— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) April 23, 2021

Of Murkowski, Manchin said, “I’ve met a lot of good people in Alaska, they know when they’ve got the real deal, and they see the person that basically is bringing both sides together, trying to look for the best interest.”

“People understand that they have a person that understands Alaska and has Alaska in her blood and in every part of her veins and every morsel of her body,” Manchin insisted.