No Labels, the national organization focused on electing centrist candidates, has decided not to field a Unity ticket in the 2024 presidential election.
The group made the announcement in a statement released on April 4.
“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. No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.”
For months, No Labels officials talked about forming a Unity ticket with a Democrat and a Republican to give American voters an alternative to a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—all Republicans—were mentioned as potential candidates. All three said they were not interested.
Last year, speculation mounted that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat, would headline the No Labels presidential ticket. He declined earlier this year.
No Labels national co-chair Benjamin Chavis told MSNBC in February that a “unity ticket” includes a Republican and a Democrat. He said the group had qualified for the general election ballot in 16 states and was striving to get on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“We are talking to Republicans, Democrats, and independents,” said Mr. Chavis, a longtime civil rights activist and the former executive director of the NAACP. “It’s a long, tedious process. And we’re very pleased with the voter access that we’ve gotten so far. And we’re going to keep pushing.”
At a virtual meeting in March that was closed to the media, 800 delegates from every state decided that the party would move forward with entering the 2024 presidential race, former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a statement.
For months, No Labels said it would announce after March 5, or Super Tuesday, whether it would field a presidential unity ticket.
“They voted near-unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the unity presidential ticket,” Mr. Rawlings said.
The group established the Country Over Party Committee to vet potential nominees.
The committee included Mr. Chavis, No Labels attorney Dan Webb, and former Connecticut Senator and No Labels founding co-chair Joe Lieberman, among others.
“Even though both major parties have settled on their presidential nominees, it’s clear the American people are still searching for another choice,” Mr. Lieberman said in a statement on March 14.
The Country Over Party Committee “is leading a rigorous process to ensure potential candidates embrace the governing values of the No Labels movement and the key elements of our Common Sense policy booklet.”
Mr. Lieberman added that “if we find two candidates that meet our high threshold, we will recommend that ticket to No Labels’ delegates for a nomination vote at a National Nominating Convention that will be held later this spring.
“We are searching for candidates with values and ideas that reflect those of the commonsense majority as well as the courage to challenge America’s broken two-party duopoly,” he said
“If No Labels is unable to find candidates who meet this high threshold, then we simply will not offer our ballot line to anyone.”
Mr. Lieberman died on March 27, following complications from a fall, according to his family. He was 82.
President Biden and President Trump are expected to receive and accept their respective party’s nominations this summer. Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an independent, is considered their top challenger. Independent Cornel West and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are also in the race.
