509: Joe Manchin—A Declaration of Independents

The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe · Oct 27, 2026 · 1h 27m

For decades, Joe Manchin was a Democrat in a state that increasingly voted Republican. He served two terms as governor of West Virginia before spending 14 years in the U.S. Senate, where his willingness to buck his own party made him one of the most consequential—and controversial—voices in Washington. But eventually, even Manchin had enough. In 2024, he left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent.

So what changed? Why was he a Democrat in the first place, and what finally convinced him to leave? On this episode of The Way I Heard It, Mike Rowe sits down with the former…