As we know, for a variety of reasons, Joe Manchin doesn’t want to dump the filibuster. The new House voting rights bill will provide him with a test, however. The bill is a perfectly reasonable response to the process issues presented over the last decade as a result of GOP overreaching. If it is approved, it will strengthen Manchin’s position in his home state.
It is, in short, a prize worth fighting for.
If I’m Manchin, I would approach a group of relatively moderate GOP senators and tell them that they need to work in good faith with the Democrats on election reform; otherwise, I might change my mind on the filibuster. The man has leverage with both sides, not just the Democrats. He would be foolish not to use it.