Summary

The centrist No Labels group has announced it will not field a presidential unity ticket for the 2024 election after failing to attract any high-profile candidates willing to take on President Biden and Donald Trump. Despite raising at least $70 million and securing ballot access in 21 states, No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson said no candidates emerged "with a credible path to winning the White House." This cements a likely Biden vs Trump rematch as the two major party nominees, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remaining as the only other prominent independent candidate.

For those who read...

The centrist group No Labels has announced it will not put forward a bipartisan presidential candidate for the 2024 election after failing to attract any high-profile names willing to go head-to-head with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

‍

No Labels was founded in 2010 with the goal of promoting bipartisanship and giving voice to what it calls "America's commonsense majority." The group had been working for over a year to field a presidential unity ticket with a Republican at the top and a Democrat as the vice presidential candidate.

‍

No Labels' push for a bipartisan 2024 presidential campaign came from the belief of a widespread dissatisfaction with Biden and Trump being the two major party nominees again. The group raised over $70 million from donors and had qualified for the ballot in 21 states so far. However, in a statement, No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson said "No such candidates emerged with a credible path to winning the White House, so the responsible course is for us to stand down."

‍

The announcement cements the 2024 general election as a rematch between the unpopular Biden and Trump, with anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the only other prominent remaining candidate mounting a long-shot independent bid.

‍

No Labels had courted around 30 potential candidates over the past year, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and most recently former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. But one by one, they all declined to run on the No Labels ticket.

‍

The group's decision was welcomed by Democrats who feared a No Labels candidate could have taken away crucial moderate Republican votes from Biden in swing states, which potentially would have lowered the threshold for Trump to win the Electoral College and help his re-election campaign. Critics also accused No Labels of a lack of transparency about its donors bankrolling the $70 million effort and its secretive decision-making process. Most deliberations occurred privately and the group never publicly named all of its delegates.

‍

In the end, the centrist group's ambitious and well-funded efforts to reshape the 2024 race fell flat. Despite claiming to have tapped into widespread dissatisfaction with the two parties and raising $70 million, No Labels simply could not find a candidate willing to take up their longshot unity campaign.

‍

Centrist group No Labels drops third-party White House bid | Reuters 

No Labels won’t run a third-party campaign after trying to recruit a centrist presidential candidate | AP News

How the No Labels 2024 Presidential Campaign Failed to Launch | WSJ