A potential third-party challenger for a White House bid is upping its efforts to place an alternative candidate on the ballot in all 50 states for the upcoming general election. On Monday, July 17, the group called “No Labels” launched its official kickoff event in New Hampshire.
The leaders of the group are signaling the possibility of presenting a “bipartisan unity ticket” comprising one Democrat and one Republican. This would be done in the event that President Biden and former President Trump become their parties’ respective nominees in next year’s general election.
The idea has raised concerns among Democrats and some Republicans, who fear the effort could divide crucial votes.
No Labels recently hosted a “common sense” town hall, featuring national leaders such as former Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah and notably Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
In an interview with NBC News, Manchin continued to leave the door open to a third-party presidential run with No Labels, repeatedly declining to rule it out.
“Let’s see where everybody goes. Let’s see what happens,” Manchin, an outspoken critic of partisanship in Washington, told NBC News. “Maybe they’ll come to their senses and start doing the job they were elected to do.”
No Labels has emphasized it is not a political party and presents itself as a “moderate alternative” to a divided electorate. The group has been in existence for over 10 years, but this launch marks the furthest the group has gone to commit itself to going forward with its unity-ticket project, Politico reports.
These developments come amidst polling that reveals a significant portion of Americans do not wish to witness another Biden-Trump rematch next year.
An April poll indicated that 70% of voters believed Biden should not seek reelection, while 60% held the same view about Trump.
While this is seen as an opportunity for a third-party group like No Labels, it is worth noting that no third-party candidate has ever won a presidential election since the establishment of the two-party system.
Furthermore, polling shows both Trump and Biden have disapproval ratings above the 50% mark, Reuters reports. Critics argue that even a slight shift in voting caused by a third party could alter the outcome of the election in one party’s favor.
Co-chairman Joe Lieberman, a former Democratic vice presidential nominee, assures that it won’t come to that point, indicating that the group will abstain from involvement in the 2024 race if it appears the group would spoil it.
He spoke a day before the group was due to release its agenda in New Hampshire, an early primary state.
“If the polling next year shows, after the two parties have chosen their nominees, that in fact we will help elect one or another candidate, we’re not going to get involved,” Lieberman added.
No Labels has already secured ballot access in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and most recently, Utah, as reported by The Washington Post.
No Labels says it wants to raise $70 million for its efforts.
