Liberal think tank Third Way is voicing concern over what it asserts is centrist group No Labels’ “radical new plan” for its potential 2024 third-party White House ticket, according to a memo released Tuesday.
No Labels has floated running a “unity ticket” as an “insurance policy” against former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden if there’s a rematch between the two primary frontrunners, and its recent polling presentation suggests a ballot with a Republican at the top would have the best shot. Third Way asserted that No Labels plans to run with a Republican candidate, which it warns could bar either major party nominee an Electoral College win, forcing the results be determined by the now-GOP controlled House, according to the memo.
“No Labels has made clear that their new plan is to put a Republican at the top of their ticket. And because they can’t win the presidency outright, they’ve indicated that their intention now is to exercise leverage over the winner by denying both major parties 270 Electoral College Votes (ECVs). That radical new plan would ensure a second Trump term,” the memo reads. “A contingent election in the House would create chaos. In the wake of the Big Lie and the January 6th insurrection, the danger of a scheme designed to pressure faithless electors into voting as they’re instructed by a small group of elites is self-evident. Moreover, it would almost certainly trigger a 12th Amendment provision whereby the new president would be chosen by the new House, voting by delegation.”
Along with the recent polling data released by No Labels, Third Way is pointing to an article from The New York Times, a CNN interview with the group’s Chief Strategist Ryan Clancy and an explainer from RealClear Policy as evidence of what it views to be a new plan. (RELATED: Dem Officials Are Freaking Out Behind Closed Doors Over Potential Third Party Bid, Emails Show)
“There’s actually an opportunity even before the House meets in the Electoral College where there’s actually a surprising number of states that don’t have bound electors,” Clancy said on CNN. “So if a No Labels ticket won some electoral votes, they could use that as a bargaining chip to get some support from one of the major party nominees.”
DERRY, NEW HAMPSHIRE – OCTOBER 23: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on stage after delivering remarks during a campaign event. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
“The claim that No Labels has a secret plan to throw the 2024 election to the House of Representatives is a conspiracy theorist’s fever dream,” Clancy told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “Firstly, we are getting on the 2024 presidential ballot to win the election outright in the electoral college. We’ve done our homework and polled eight battleground states to get a snapshot of how voters feel about President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, revealing the path for an independent ticket to win the White House is wider now than ever before. Secondly, we have not decided who will be on our Unity ticket. We will announce our selection process in early November.”
The No Labels slide Third Way is referencing indicates that Trump is leading Biden in a head-to-head matchup in Arizona, Georgia, Florida and Wisconsin, while the president is winning in Pennsylvania and has an advantage in Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.
With a Republican at the top of the ticket, the only state that Biden secures is Pennsylvania, while Trump is advantaged in several battleground states, according to the slide. The polling suggests that a ticket led by a Democrat would swing the election to Trump.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who has yet to announce a run for reelection in 2024, has been floated as a possible contender for the No Labels ballot. Democrats are increasingly concerned over a No Labels third-party run, fearing that it would siphon off more votes from Biden than Trump in 2024.
The centrist organization has already secured ballot access in ten states — Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah.
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