WSJ — No Labels No-Go: Moderate Group Pulls Plug on Third-Party Bid in 2024

No Labels is reportedly ending its efforts to cobble together a presidential ticket after it aimed to provide a “launching pad” for a moderate candidate in 2024’s presidential election, in the event voters were unhappy with the two major parties’ nominees.

The Wall Street Journal’s Ken Thomas and Kristina Peterson were the first to report that the moderate group was unable to enlist a viable candidate and running mate:

Nancy Jacobson, No Labels’ founder and CEO, told allies this week that the group would announce Monday that it won’t pursue a presidential campaign this year because it hasn’t been able to recruit a credible ticket that could win the election, the people said.

Jacobson told supporters that the organization had reached out to 30 potential candidates during its process. No Labels didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the coming announcement.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) seemed to be the first pick to lead the No Labels ticket but opted not to run under it, per the Journal. The group also courted former Govs. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Larry Hogan (R-MD), but Haley declined, and Hogan opted for a Senate bid in Maryland, where the prospects look great for him.

The Journal’s report comes eight days after former vice presidential nominee and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) — who was one of several No Labels co-chairman — died at 82 due to complications from a fall.

The group sought to make the ballot in all 50 states to establish a “launching pad” for a potential third-party candidate, as Breitbart News reported in March 2023.

Lieberman — along with No Labels’ other two co-chairs, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and former Gov. Patrick McRory (R-NC) — noted at the time that they aimed to establish “an insurance policy in the event both major parties nominate presidential candidates that the vast majority of Americans don’t want.”

“If this happens, No Labels itself will not run a candidate, but we will have the launching pad, specifically in the form of ballot access across the country,” they added.

While the group will not have a third-party candidate in the fray, according to the Journal, the field appears as though it will have multiple third-party candidates. Independent Robert F Kennedy Jr. is amid an undertaking to get on the ballot in all 50 states, while the Green Party’s Jill Stein and independent Cornel West are also declared candidates with national name recognition.