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No Labels ditches third-party presidential candidate plans

The centrist group said it decided not to run a third-party candidate to oppose top candidates in the 2024 presidential race.
No Labels ditches third-party presidential candidate plans
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The centrist political group No Labels has confirmed to Scripps News that it will no longer pursue a third-party candidate to run against top candidates for the two major U.S. political parties in the 2024 race for the White House. 

"No Labels is ending our effort to put forth a Unity ticket in the 2024 presidential election," the group said in a statement. "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."

In March President Joe Biden won enough delegates to presumptively gain a second straight Democratic nomination, and former President Donald Trump moved forward to become the Republican nominee again. 

No Labels said, "Like many Americans, we are concerned that the division and strife gripping the country will reach a critical point after this election regardless of who wins. Post-election, No Labels will be prepared to champion and defend the values and interests of America's commonsense majority."

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No Labels was able to gain ballot access in 21 states and reinvigorated the national conversation around ongoing efforts to find a viable third-party candidate in a political climate where the two major U.S. parties continue to dominate in presidential elections, cycle after cycle. 

The group tried for weeks to field presidential candidatesand spent months debating the launch of what it called the "unity ticket."

Last year Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman spoke on behalf of the group at a New Hampshire town hall, causing speculation that the group was seriously considering a political ticket. 

Joe Cunningham, a former Democratic member of Congress and a No Labels member said, "What do you say to two-thirds of Americans who say they don't want this rematch? They want other options."


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