Manchin eyes presidential bid as Democrat

• Manchin is considering coming back to the party and putting his name into the running for the Democratic nomination, two sources familiar with his thinking told Axios.
• The West Virginia centrist is retiring from the Senate when his term ends in January.

The big picture: Democrats on Sunday rushed to coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris, but it's still not certain that she will be the nominee.

• Manchin notably split with the Biden White House, especially in the last two years.
• The lawmaker said in May when he left the Democratic Party that the country's "national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground."
• He flirted with an independent presidential bid earlier this year.

Context: Manchin, 76, is a lifelong (until recently) moderate Democrat, who carried a critical Senate seat in a red state for the party.

• He also served two terms as a Democratic governor in West Virginia.

• He continued to caucus with Senate Democrats, even after he left the party in May.
• Manchin earlier Sunday called on Biden to leave the race, saying on CNN's "State of the Union" that it was time to "pass the torch to a new generation."

Reality check: Manchin would struggle to find any backing from more liberal Democrats, making a bid to unite the party a long shot.

Flashback: Sen. Joe Manchin calls for Biden to step aside in 2024 race