The group No Labels said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists at the bipartisan organization failed to attract a high-profile centrist willing to exploit widespread dissatisfaction with President Biden and Donald Trump.
“No Labels has always said that we will advance our ballot line only if we can identify candidates who have a credible path to winning the White House,” Nancy Jacobson, the group's CEO, said in a statement sent to allies. “No such candidates have emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to step down,” he added.
The unexpected announcement strengthens the general election contest between the two unpopular major party candidates, Biden and Trump, leaving anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the only notable outsider still seeking the presidency. Kennedy said this week that he had collected enough signatures to qualify for the fall ballot in five states, including the battleground states of Nevada and North Carolina.
No Labels' decision, which comes just days after the death of founding president Joe Lieberman, culminates months of discussions during which the group raised tens of millions of dollars from a list of donors it kept secret. It was welcomed by relieved Democrats who had long feared that a “no labels” ticket would break up Biden’s coalition and help Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the no-sticker decision.
“Millions of Americans are relieved that No Labels has finally decided to do the right thing to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” said Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, a critic of the No Labels campaign. “Now, it is time for Robert Kennedy Jr. to see the writing on the wall that no third party has a path forward to win the presidency. We must come together to defeat the greatest threat to our democracy and our country: Donald Trump.
The Kennedy campaign had no immediate response.
La Labels said it qualified for the ballot in 21 states, but ultimately, the centrist group was unable to persuade a top-tier moderate from either party to embrace its movement.
No Labels delegates voted overwhelmingly in March to launch the process of creating a bipartisan presidential and vice presidential ticket. But by then, many Democratic and Republican candidates had rejected the No Posters initiative, both publicly and privately.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last month, said she would not consider running on a “no stickers” ticket. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has ruled out running and former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) has decided to run for U.S. Senate.
Last month, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said he would not run under the “no label” banner either.
The group was considering nominating a “unity ticket,” with a presidential candidate from one major party and a vice presidential candidate from the other, to appeal to voters dissatisfied with Biden and Trump.
Matt Bennett of the centrist group Third Way, which has been fighting No Labels ambitions for 2024, said: “We are deeply relieved that everyone has rejected their offer, forcing them to stand down.” “While the threat of third-party spoilers remains, this uniquely devastating attack on President Biden and centrist Democrats has finally ended.”
Biden's supporters were concerned that the No Labels campaign might draw votes away from the president in hotly contested states, and criticized how the group would not disclose its donors or much about its decision-making process. No Labels never named all of its delegates and most of its deliberations were conducted in secret.
Dan Dubrow, a 33-year-old sales worker in Philadelphia who would have been a delegate to the No Stickers conference, said the decision was disappointing but wise. He trusts No Labels' leadership to make the right decision.
“I understand why they made that decision, and I think it's the right thing to do at this moment,” Dubrow said. “But I'm very disappointed that we got Trump and Biden again. “I think this is a terrible thing for our country.”
Dubrow said he will now choose between Biden and Kennedy.
“I'm excited that there are options other than the two major parties,” he said.
Peoples and Cooper write for The Associated Press. Cooper reported from Phoenix.
