Manchin Will Seek Re-election but Sends Democrats a Stern Warning

WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia told colleagues on Tuesday that he intended to run for re-election this year after all, ending an anxiety-making flirtation with retirement and easing Democratic fears that the most conservative Democrat in the Senate was about to effectively hand his seat to a Republican.

In an interview, Mr. Manchin said he repeatedly expressed his frustration to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, and other colleagues, telling them that “this place sucks,” before finally signaling Tuesday morning to Mr. Schumer’s aides that he would file his re-election paperwork before West Virginia’s deadline on Friday. “I was very vocal,” Mr. Manchin said, adding, “they read between the lines.”

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It also will have to be bridged if Democrats have any hope of regaining the Senate in November, when they must defend 10 seats in states that Mr. Trump won, while winning Republican-held seats in difficult states like Tennessee, Nevada and Arizona. “I’ve said this point blank: If people like me can’t win from red states, you’ll be in the minority the rest of your life,” Mr. Manchin said about his conversations with other Democrats about the need to tolerate more moderate lawmakers.

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His aides noted that he had a dinner fund-raiser planned for Tuesday evening in Washington and campaign events already scheduled for this weekend in West Virginia. They also pointed out that Mr. Manchin’s grumbles about Senate dysfunction and the Democratic Party’s shift left were not new. Such complains have been a recurring theme over his seven-year tenure.