Washington | Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat known for bipartisan dealmaking, announced on Thursday (Friday AEDT) that he would not seek re-election, dealing a blow to Democrats’ chances of holding the Senate next year.

Instead, Mr Manchin, who was likely to face a strong Republican challenger to keep his Senate seat in a deeply red state, said he would continue exploring whether there was an appetite in the country for a centrist third-party bid for the presidency.