Biden agenda is forcing Democrats from his party; Manchin could be next

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin may be the next in a long line of influential lawmakers who have left the Democratic Party under President Joe Biden.

"The brand has become so bad — the D brand and R brand," Manchin said on Thursday, adding that he's considering switching to becoming an independent. "In West Virginia, the D brand because it’s [the] national brand. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington."

Manchin has repeatedly said that he's "not a Washington Democrat.” 

Both Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard became independents last year. Sinema clashed with her fellow Democrats on issues from tax policy to filibuster reform. Gabbard too refused to toe the party line on several issues and has tweeted that too many Democrats have expressed anti-police views and used rhetoric that was “hostile to people of faith and spirituality.”

Many state lawmakers have left the Democratic Party during Biden's time in the White House as well, citing a drift too far to the left.

West Virginia Democratic Delegate Elliott Pritt joined the GOP in April.

"Like so many West Virginians, Delegate Pritt has recognized that the Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party that our parents grew up with," said West Virginia Republican Party chairwoman Elgine McArdle said in a statement.

Louisiana's legislature has been controlled by Democrats from the post-Civil War "Reconstruction Era" until the turn of the 21st century, allowing Republicans to win control of the state legislature and every statewide office in 2011. In Louisiana, two Democratic lawmakers switched parties in April, including State Rep. Jeremy LaCombe and State Rep. Francis Thompson, both of whom went to the GOP. Currently, the Democratic Party controls the office of governor, while the Republican Party controls the offices of attorney general, secretary of state, and both chambers of the state legislature.

North Carolina Democratic State Rep. Tricia Cotham also joined the Republican Party, as Fox News reported that she was the third Democrat in less than a month to switch parties. Cotham said she was bullied by other Democrats for not voting along party lines on hot-button issues.

Georgia Democratic state legislator Mesha Mainor announced she was leaving the party in July. She said her fellow Democrats had “publicly slandered me in every way imaginable" for voicing options outside of the party orthodoxy.

Dov Hikind, who served for 36 years in the New York State Assembly, also announced that he and his wife had left the party.

"Well, the time has come [because] the Dems have turned their back on Jews & Israel, so it's officially done!" he wrote on Twitter. Hikind also said he hoped his departure sends a "message to the Biden administration" and the Democratic Party.

"We're losing the American people because you are not representing our values. You are not representing the Democratic Party that my parents were so proud of," Hikind added.

Texas State Rep. Ryan Guillen left the Democratic Party and joined the GOP in November 2021.

"Something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, nor are they the values of most Texans. The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry, and of the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live down in South Texas. That's why after much thought and much prayer with my family, today I'll proudly be running as a Republican to represent House District 31," he said.

During the 2020 election cycle, Democratic Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones endorsed former President Donald Trump over Biden and left the party. Trump won Louisiana on the day of the election 58.5% to 39.9%.