Third-party group No Labels reportedly plans to launch an independent presidential bid – but there’s one major problem.
No Labels delegates will vote Friday on whether the group will run a candidate in the 2024 presidential election and is expected to approve the measure, sources familiar with the process told The Associated Press, according to a report published Wednesday.
“We expect our delegates to encourage the process to continue,” Ryan Clancy, senior strategist of No Labels, said in a statement.
This hurts Biden:
“The centrist group No Labels is expected to announce on Friday it will move forward with a presidential bid for November’s U.S. election…
The Democratic Party’s primary opposition research organization, American Bridge, in January hired prominent election… https://t.co/WcxxH3m7OU pic.twitter.com/GP99GvbREt
— Prodigal (@ProdigalThe3rd) March 7, 2024
Approximately 800 delegates will reportedly vote at the private meeting, though officials with the third-party group have not yet publicly confirmed the plans for Friday’s meeting, AP noted.
The group will not name a candidate at Friday’s meeting but is expected to initiate a formal selection process later next week, the outlet noted, citing its sources.
No Labels has been teasing a “unity ticket” for roughly a year to provide an alternative to former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, both of whom all but clinched their party’s nominations on Super Tuesday. (RELATED: ‘No Labels’ Could Soon Have No Money As Donors Reportedly Question Third Party’s Viability)
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has been floated as a potential third-party alternative to Trump and Biden, but she said in March that she “would not” run as an independent or for No Labels.
Haley suspended her campaign Tuesday after winning just one of the day’s 15 primary contests. The former South Carolina governor has yet to endorse Trump, who she said must “earn the votes” of her supporters.
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, both of whom have ties with No Labels, have also ruled out running for president. Manchin is retiring when his current term ends in Jan. 2025, while Hogan is running for Senate as a Republican.