T-Squared: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin will close out the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival

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We’re thrilled to announce that U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, will close this year’s Texas Tribune Festival — in a candid conversation with Tribune co-founder Evan Smith – to discuss his agenda for America and his future plans.

One of the most powerful members of the upper chamber of Congress, Manchin is at the core of all manner of 2024 speculation. He is up for reelection to his Senate seat in a state that is increasingly difficult for Democrats to win — but will he run again? He has acknowledged that he’s considering switching his party affiliation to independent – but will he follow through? He has also been floated as a possible third-party candidate for president — will he make that leap? He and Smith will discuss all that and more — including America’s energy future and the state of college sports – when they sit down in Austin’s Paramount Theatre at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, to close TribFest.

Manchin has represented West Virginia in the U.S. Senate since winning a special election in 2010. Of late, the committed centrist has been a critical swing vote in a body with a slim Democratic majority and has occasionally frustrated members of his own party by breaking with them on a host of issues. He previously served the Mountain State as governor, as secretary of state and as a state legislator.

Get your Texas Tribune Festival tickets today so you can see more than 100 hourlong interviews and panel discussions featuring nearly 300 speakers. You don’t want to miss it.

Disclosure: Paramount Theatre has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.