by Mary Lou Masters
Liberal and groups aligned with the Democratic Party fear that a centrist organization’s third-party ticket could erode support for President Joe Biden in 2024, and hand the White House to former President Donald Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
No Labels is planning on running a third-party candidate in 2024 in the event that there’s a rematch between Biden and Trump, whom the group believes each represent the most extreme ends of their respective parties. Liberal and/or pro-Democrat groups, like the Lincoln Project, MoveOn and Third Way, have voiced their concerns over the centrist organization’s electoral path, according to the WSJ.
“It is a spectacular combination of hubris and irresponsibility at a level that I have trouble even believing,” Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, told the WSJ. “They’ve made a financial and personal decision to destroy Joe Biden.”
No Labels has continued their efforts to gain ballot access in key states, and has since qualified in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Utah, according to the WSJ. Democrats in Arizona are suing the centrist group to get them off the ballot, and No Labels’ efforts in Maine have drawn criticism from the Democratic secretary of state.
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows accused No Labels of misleading voters, prompting MoveOn to write to other secretaries of state to investigate whether the centrist group was merely trying to gain party members in their respective states, according to the WSJ.
Third Way sent a memo in early March warning of a third-party candidate’s implications, arguing “No Labels is on track to field a spoiler who would re-elect Trump or a Trump-like Republican.”
“No Labels is arguing this is a unique historical moment that gives their ‘unity ticket’ a real shot at winning the White House. But that is an illusion. The data and historical evidence are clear: no third-party candidate would come close to winning,” the Third Way memo reads.
No Labels’ national co-chairman, and former NAACP executive director, Ben Chavis believes the centrist group’s third-party candidate would not be a spoiler in 2024, he told the WSJ.
“Americans want more choices rather than a repeat of the 2020 presidential race,” Chavis told the WSJ.
No Labels has yet to put forth a candidate and recently said they likely would refrain from running a third-party ticket if Trump is not the GOP nominee, as they don’t see as much of a path to electoral success. The centrist organization will reveal whether they’ll run a candidate in April 2024 following the results from Super Tuesday, according to the WSJ.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin could run as No Labels’ third-party candidate, and has yet to announce whether he’ll seek reelection in 2024. Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan ruled out a run for president as a Republican, but left the door open to running as an independent for the centrist organization.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for a 2024 Republican and Democratic primary, based on the most recent polling, indicates that Trump and Biden lead their respective fields at 52.4% and 64%, respectively.
– – –
Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Trump White House Archived. Background Photo “Election Day” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
