The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization were unable to attract a candidate willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Quick Read
- No Third-Party Candidate: No Labels announced it will not run a presidential candidate in the upcoming election due to the lack of a viable candidate who could capitalize on the dissatisfaction with Biden and Trump.
- Official Statement: Nancy Jacobson, CEO of No Labels, stated that the absence of credible candidates led to the decision to stand down from fielding a presidential ticket.
- Relief for Democrats: Democrats, concerned that a No Labels candidate might inadvertently aid Trump’s campaign, will likely view this decision as positive.
- Rematch Anticipated: The decision sets the stage for a likely rematch between Biden and Trump in the general election, despite widespread voter dissatisfaction with both.
- Candidate Search: No Labels faced rejections from several potential candidates, including Nikki Haley, Joe Manchin, Larry Hogan, and Chris Christie, who all declined to run under the No Labels banner.
- Unity Ticket Consideration: The group had considered nominating a bipartisan “unity ticket” to appeal to voters dissatisfied with the major party candidates.
- Transparency Concerns: Critics have voiced concerns over No Labels’ secrecy, including undisclosed donor lists and private deliberations, adding to the controversy surrounding the group’s potential third-party bid.
The Associated Press has the story:
No Labels won’t run a 3rd-party campaign after spending millions trying to recruit a candidate
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization were unable to attract a candidate willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
“No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,” Nancy Jacobson, the group’s CEO, said in a statement. “No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.”
The decision caps months of discussions for No Labels, which has raised tens of millions of dollars from a donor list it has kept secret. While its decision will disappoint people seeking a potentially viable third-party option, it will come as a relief to Democrats who long accused the group of effectively helping Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
It also further cements a general election rematch this fall between the Democratic incumbent and the former president. Many voters do not have favorable views of Biden and Trump, a dynamic that No Labels had sought to address. The Wall Street Journal first reported No Labels’ decision.
No Labels delegates voted overwhelmingly in March to launch the process of creating a bipartisan presidential and vice presidential ticket. But by then, No Labels had been rejected, publicly and privately, by many Democratic or Republican candidates.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the GOP presidential nomination last month, had said she would not consider running on the No Labels ticket. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., ruled out running and former Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md., decided to run for U.S. Senate.
Last month, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, said he wouldn’t run under the No Label banner, either.
The group had been weighing the nomination of a “unity ticket,” with a presidential candidate from one major party and a vice presidential candidate from the other, to appeal to voters unhappy with Biden and Trump.
Biden supporters had worried No Labels would pull votes away from the president in battleground states and had been critical of how the group would not disclose its donors or much about its decision-making. No Labels never named all of its delegates and most of its deliberations took place in secret.
