No Labels is moving forward with plans to form a third-party ticket for the 2024 election even as some of its top contenders have declined a presidential bid in the wake of a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The third-party group voted on Friday during a closed-door meeting to launch a presidential campaign ahead of the November contest despite pushback from both Republicans and Democrats that an alternative campaign could prove as a “spoiler” in the high-stakes election.
“I wasn’t sure exactly where No Labels delegates would land today but they sent an unequivocal message: Keep going,” No Labels National Convention Chairman Mike Rawlings said in a statement. “They voted near unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the Unity presidential ticket. Every one of our delegates had their own explanation for wanting to move ahead.”
The decision comes just days after Super Tuesday, during which both Biden and Trump secured most of the delegates for their respective races, all but ensuring a rematch between the two later this year. No Labels leaders long said the group would decide on its path forward after Super Tuesday.
No Labels has been working to gain ballot access across the country as a third-party ticket. So far, the group has secured access in 16 states and plans to continue gathering signatures to appear in 33 states.
“If No Labels puts up a unity ticket, it will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” said Ryan Clancy, chief strategist for the group. “But as we have said repeatedly, No Labels will only be securing ballot access in 33 states because most of the remaining states require a named candidate to get on the ballot. The unity ticket campaign would be in charge of getting ballot access in the remainder of the states, and they would have more than enough time to do it.”
Click here to read the full story at the Washington Examiner.
