No Labels drops plan to launch third party presidential challenge in 2024
No Labels has dropped plans to pursue a 2024 presidential ticket citing, according to a New York Times report, a critical problem: No candidate.
Leader Nancy Jacobson told the Times Thursday the centrist group was unable to woo a candidate despite raising $60 million last year to run a bipartisan ticket.
But a string of "no thank yous" from prominent Republicans and Democrats spoiled No Labels' plans, the Times reports.
“Today, No Labels is ending our effort to put forth a Unity ticket in the 2024 presidential election,” Jacobson said in a reported statement.
“Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run and hungrier for unifying national leadership than ever before. But No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House. No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.”
Last month, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie requested his name be scratched from the list of potentials that No Labels hoped to formalize ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
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“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten to pursue a third-party candidacy,” Christie said at the time. “While I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward.”
No Labels' plan to run an independent candidate against Donald Trump and President Joe Biden in November had been widely criticized by Democrat supporters for giving the Republican an advantage.