No Labels has announced that it will meet on March 8 to decide whether to continue its efforts in the 2024 presidential election.
“On March 8, we will gather our 800 delegates from all 50 states—who would ultimately approve a final Unity ticket—to discuss and vote on whether they want us to continue moving forward,” the organization said.
Ryan Clancy, chief strategist for No Labels, told The Epoch Times that the meeting “is a chance to speak freely and honestly about the path ahead for our 2024 project.”
“Candidates will not be chosen for the Unity ticket during this meeting and it will not be open to the press,” he said.
Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) November announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2024 sparked rumors of his running as a third-party candidate, but he made it clear earlier in February that he “will not be seeking a third-party run.”
“I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together,” he said.
Though it’s a possibility in the future, he said it currently isn’t “the right time.”
“We’re in a real teetering situation here that could go either way,” he said. “Democracy is at stake right now.”
In his November 2023 video statement, Mr. Manchin said he’s fulfilled his accomplishments for West Virginia, and that he now intends to “see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.”
Other Possibilities
Another candidate rumored to be a contender for the unity ticket is former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. He served as a national co-chair for No Labels before stepping down in December and is currently running for U.S. Senate.Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, co-chair of No Labels, said in January that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is already running in the Republican primary, could be a candidate for the unity ticket.
“I think I’m speaking for a lot of No Labels members,” Mr. Lieberman said. “Gov. Haley would deserve serious consideration. But that’s a decision for her to make, and it’s not an easy one. So we'll have to wait and see.”
Ms. Haley’s team said it has “no interest in No Labels” and that “she’s happy with the Republican” ticket.
Mr. Lieberman said he’s also interested in former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, stating that he’s the “kind of candidate No Labels is looking for.”
‘Conspiracy to Subvert’
No Labels filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice in January, asking for an investigation into an “unlawful conspiracy to subvert Americans’ voting rights, intimidate potential candidates and shut down the organization’s effort to secure ballot access for the 2024 presidential election.”The group alleged that outside forces were conspiring to prevent No Labels from obtaining ballot access and intimidating the group’s representatives, potential candidates, and supporters nationwide.
“In six decades working on the frontlines of the civil rights movement, I have unfortunately become very familiar with nefarious efforts to suppress the rights of American voters,” said No Labels co-chair Benjamin Chavis, a former executive director of the NAACP, in a press release.
“This latest alleged conspiracy is based on evidence presented to the Department of Justice that shows a plan to deny millions of American voters a choice they so clearly want in 2024 is one of the most brazen suppression efforts I have ever seen. Based on this evidence presented to the DOJ, I have concluded that this represents a moral, ethical and legal assault on America’s sacred right to vote.”
