Manchin bucks Schumer, throws support behind Republican Democrats want to oust

A top Senate Republican whom Democrats are salivating at the chance to unseat is getting an unexpected assist from a former member of their own party, delivering a political snub to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party to become an independent before retiring from the Senate, is making a swing into Maine to support Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the lawmaker’s campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Collins is locked in a tight race against former Maine state Sen. Troy Jackson as she seeks a sixth term in the upper chamber. The race has remained close after it was shaken up earlier this year when Graham Platner dropped out after a sexual assault allegation rocked his campaign.

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Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., leaves the U.S. Capitol for a private meeting between Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden's senior advisors on July 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

Manchin’s visit on the trail with Collins, first reported by Semafor, comes as Schumer and Democrats have tried to paint Collins as a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump, though she has often broken with the president during his second term, most notably on his signature legislation, the "one big, beautiful bill."

Manchin told the outlet that his appearance alongside Collins, whom he served with during the entirety of his career in the upper chamber, was meant to demonstrate to Maine voters that Collins has a bipartisan track record that was instrumental in advancing key legislation, like his infrastructure package passed under former President Joe Biden, and blocking Trump’s policy desires, like repealing Obamacare.

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"She is not a Trump senator," Manchin said.

His foray onto the campaign trail in Maine on Wednesday will come just 24 hours before another major surrogate for Democrats will make her way to Vacationland: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Jackson has had other progressive heavyweights join him on the campaign stump, too, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represent the far left of the national Democratic Party," Collins spokeswoman Blake Kernan told Fox News Digital. "That they are all campaigning in Maine for Troy Jackson tells voters exactly how he would govern."

SCHUMER SAYS HE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE, BUT HIS OWN CANDIDATES AREN'T READY TO BACK HIM

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is locked in a tight race against former Maine state Sen. Troy Jackson as she seeks a sixth term in the upper chamber. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"Senator Manchin campaigning for Senator Collins is a testament to her record of effective, independent leadership and commitment delivering results that have greatly benefited Maine and America," she continued.

Manchin’s decision to stump for Collins serves as a sharp rebuke to Schumer and the Democratic Party and comes after his years of serving as a thorn in the side of Democratic leadership and previous Democratic administrations while he was still in the Senate.

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In his memoir released last year, Manchin tore into former President Barack Obama, Biden and Schumer, particularly over Schumer’s support for nuking the filibuster. That reasoning is why he wrote that he "wanted Republicans to win the Senate majority in 2024."

"I believed it was the only hope for preserving the Senate as an institution," Manchin said. "I truly believed that, if in power, Republicans would uphold the filibuster, the last guardrail preventing total partisan rule."

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.