The centrist No Labels Party suspended its efforts to field a viable presidential candidate on Thursday, ending the bipartisan group’s dream of launching a national “unity ticket” to rival Republicans and Democrats in the 2024 election.
Despite millions spent on securing ballot access in multiple states, the party was reportedly unable to convince any of the 30 high-profile candidates they contacted to take up the No Labels mantle.
“Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run, and hungrier for unifying national leadership, than ever before,” said party founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson. “But 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.”
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The end of No Labels’ presidential aspirations comes one week after the death of former Senator Joe Lieberman, who served as the party’s founding chairman.
Last year, No Labels raised roughly $70 million to secure ballot access in all 50 states, registering thousands of “politically homeless” voters in the process. The party capitalized on people dissatisfied with the rematch between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, which has led to a surge in popularity for third-party options. Before Thursday’s announcement, the party had secured access in 21 states.
Despite its progress, however, No Labels never managed to find a viable candidate to head its presidential ticket. Amid months of speculation about who might fill the role, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and retiring Senator Joe Manchin were all floated as possibilities.
Ultimately, after discussions with dozens of candidates, all declined to join No Labels as a presidential contender.
The party’s decision to exit the 2024 race was celebrated by Democrats and allies of President Biden, both of whom feared a third-party option would fracture the incumbent’s coalition and hand the election to Donald Trump. Similar criticism has been lobbed at Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an Independent, pulling many of his supporters from the Biden camp.
“Millions of Americans are relieved that No Labels finally decided to do the right thing to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” said MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting, a No Labels’ critic. “Now, it’s time for Robert Kennedy Jr. to see the writing on the wall that no third party has a path forward to winning the presidency. We must come together to defeat the biggest threat to our democracy and country: Donald Trump.”
Even without No Labels, the field will still likely be crowded with third-party options in November, as Kennedy will be joined by fellow Independent Cornel West, as well as yet-to-be-named candidates from the Green and Libertarian parties.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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