Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is stepping down as national co-chair of No Labels, just days after the political organization said it would launch a bipartisan presidential unity ticket in November’s general election.
“I gave it my all for over a year as volunteer co-chair, but it is now time to move on,” the former Republican governor told the publication. “I wish the best for the No Labels movement, the wonderful teammates I worked with, and all those throughout the country who know that now more than ever, we must put country over party at all levels of government.”
He was previously listed on the organization’s official website as a national co-chair but as of March 12, he no longer appears on the website.
Benjamin F. Chavis is still listed as the organization’s national co-chair while former Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), is listed as the group’s founding chairman. Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, is the director of its national ballot integrity project.
The website makes no mention of Mr. McCrory stepping down.
No Labels to Launch ‘Unity Ticket’
Mr. McCrory’s decision to step down as national co-chair of No Labels comes just days after the organization–which is focused on electing centrist candidates—said it would launch a bipartisan presidential unity ticket in the general election.The group previously said it would announce the selection process for a potential ticket on March 14.
No Labels seeks to offer an alternative for American voters who do not wish to see a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump—both of whom decisively won multiple primaries on Super Tuesday—and are instead open to voting for an independent candidate.
The group has said their unity ticket will feature a Republican and a Democrat.
Spoiler Ticket?
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican and a former No Labels co-chair, was also being floated as a potential candidate for the group, but Mr. Hogan stepped down from his role at No Labels in January and ran for U.S. Senate in Maryland.He also endorsed Ms. Haley in the 2024 presidential race. She has since dropped out.
Meanwhile, Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who dropped out of the 2024 presidential primary in January, has also not ruled out a third-party run.
However, Ryan Clancy, the group’s chief strategist, has said the group has not yet chosen who will lead its unity ticket, noting in a statement on X earlier this month that “any names floating around are being put out there by someone else.”
Regardless of who is chosen to lead the group’s ticket, No Labels, founded in 2009, has sparked concern among progressive groups who fear such a ticket could pull votes away from President Joe Biden.
“We’ve said it for months: A vote for No Labels is a vote for Donald Trump,” Reed Galen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, which markets itself as a pro-democracy organization, told The Wall Street Journal. “The only way to stop the disintegration of democracy is to vote to re-elect President Biden.”
