Joe Manchin says Kamala Harris has brought a 'vivacious energy' to the 2024 campaign: 'She's got people fired up'

• Sen. Joe Manchin praised Kamala Harris' campaign.
• "I've been surprised. She's done some good things," he told the Times.
• Manchin said he approved Harris' shift on fracking, a potent issue in many rural areas.

Before becoming an independent earlier this year, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia had long been one of the more conservative Democrats in the upper chamber.

Manchin, who often laments the once-unshakable level of bipartisanship that was an earlier hallmark of the Senate, previously floated running for president — while criticizing President Joe Biden for some of his more left-leaning policies.