No Labels has been working tirelessly to launch a third-party ballot initiative in a majority of states ahead of the 2024 election but has hit several roadblocks from opponents on both sides of the aisle who believe an independent ticket will doom one candidate or the other this November.
Despite an onslaught of legal challenges and campaign attacks against the third-party organization, No Labels said it remains undeterred from its mission. The group expects to be on the ballot in 32 states, while the other 18 have ballot access requirements that would become the unity ticket candidates’ job to take on.
Most recently, the group has lost two of its rumored front-runners for an independent ticket, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), either to other campaigns or their declining to push forward with a presidential challenge to former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.
Still, the group said it is pushing forward and will not drop its third-party ballot access mission.
“No Labels strategy has not changed at all in the wake of these announcements,” No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “We are continuing to hit every one of our ballot access goals, and we are speaking with several exceptional leaders about being on the Unity ticket.”
“We will announce in the coming weeks whether we will go forward with a ticket and, if so, who would be on it,” Clancy continued.
Larry Hogan launches Senate bid
Hogan sidestepped a presidential bid at the beginning of February and launched a bid for Maryland’s open Senate seat, left vacant by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).
The former governor, a centrist who governed over a blue state from 2015 to 2023, had left his plans vague following his departure from the governor’s mansion. He recently stoked rumors that he was running for president after he stepped down in January from No Labels leadership following three years as chairman.
Hogan said last year he would not rule out a presidential bid as an alternative candidate for No Labels. Now he said he is running for Senate because he is “completely fed up” with “politics as usual,” claiming that Washington, D.C., lawmakers are “more interested in arguing than actually getting anything done” for their constituents.
Despite losing a prominent option for a unity ticket, No Labels praised Hogan’s decision to run for in the Maryland Senate race, a Democratic stronghold that is already shaping up to be more competitive than it has been in years.
“It’s never been clearer Washington needs more bipartisan problem solvers and Gov. Hogan has an unmatched track record of delivering commonsense leadership,” the group posted.
Joe Manchin forgoes presidential run, ending a year of rumors
Last week, Manchin announced he would not be running a third-party campaign for president, bringing an end to nearly a year of speculation that he would seek the White House.
He was considering a run with No Labels, but he said he doesn’t “think it’s the right time” for him to launch a run for president. Instead, he will “be involved in making sure that we secure a president who has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together.”
No Labels is a nonprofit organization and not a standard political party, which means it is not required to disclose its donors. However, a centrist Democrat who often opposes the Biden administration, Manchin has been associated with the third-party group for over a decade.
Manchin announced in November he would not be running for reelection to keep the West Virginia seat he’s held since 2010. The race was shaping up to be a possible losing battle for Manchin, as polling released right before he made his decision on reelection showed the incumbent was trailing Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) by 13 points.
No Labels slapped with legal challenges from Democratic-allied groups
End Citizens United and Accountable.US filed campaign finance complaints with the IRS in January, alleging that No Labels is abusing its nonprofit status and is acting like a political party, so it should be required to disclose donors.
In End Citizens United’s complaint, the group alleges No Labels is primarily engaged in political activity “to oppose the candidacies of Joe Biden and Donald Trump.” Accountable.US filed a complaint in Colorado, accusing the group of failing to file quarterly campaign reports, which are required under state law.
The groups’ goal is to send the complaints to the 14 states where No Labels has gained ballot access as an independent political party. The third-party nonprofit group has called the legal challenges “baseless” and dangerous to voters.
“Ultimately, the victim is not just No Labels. It’s the voters who are being deprived of the ability to vote for the candidate of their choice and to have a — you know, being able to have something different of a choice than just the candidates for the two leading parties,” said Brad Schlozman, former acting U.S. assistant attorney general who is now a lawyer working with No Labels in Kansas.
Two New York megadonors, Durst Organization Chairman Douglas Durst and President Jonathan Durst, filed a breach-of-contract and “unjust enrichment” suit in late January. The pair is accusing No Labels of seeking donations under the premise of a bipartisan governing group and then turning around and using the funds to finance a third-party presidential campaign. The cousins who lead the powerful real estate company are seeking damages and reimbursements for the $145,000 donated to No Labels as early as 2020.
Prominent Democratic lawmakers and groups push back
Democratic groups like Third Way have accused No Labels of a “secret plot” to prevent Biden’s reelection, arguing that a third-party candidate will draw votes away from Biden and aid a GOP victory. Some lawmakers like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) have also criticized No Labels for wasting resources to fund third-party ballot accesses.
In a release on Thursday, Third Way claimed No Labels’s target voters “would come out of the Democratic coalition” and an increase in third-party voting “could hand Trump key battlegrounds.”
“It’s been a bad few weeks for No Labels,” Sarah Bibeau, press adviser for Third Way, said. “Two co-chairs with deep connections to the organization decided against running on their ticket—a clear vote of no confidence in their plans. But until they stand down, we all must keep up the pressure because even a paltry performance could be enough to hand Trump the White House.”
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Biden himself said in a ProPublica interview last fall that the third-party ballot access initiative was a “mistake.”
“He has a democratic right to do it. There’s no reason not to do that,” Biden said of former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the founding chairman of No Labels. “Now, it’s going to help the other guy, and he knows. That’s a political decision he’s making that I obviously think is a mistake. But he has a right to do that.”
