Sen. Joe Manchin, West Virginia Democrat, is open to adding two new states — the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The liberal push to add the District and Puerto Rico comes as Democrats see adding U.S. Senate seats from those jurisdictions as providing them with a firmer grasp on control of Congress.
With the Senate set to be divided 50-50 and tie-breaking control belonging to Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris, Mr. Manchin’s support could prove critical to many key issues on liberals’ wish lists, including adding states to the union.