Well, well, well. It seems that No Labels has no future. At least, not in the 2024 presidential election.
The supposedly centrist, supposedly bipartisan group that tried desperately to find someone—literally, anyone—to run on a “unity” ticket against President Joe Biden is admitting defeat, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down,” said Nancy Jacobson, founder and CEO of No Labels in a statement.
It’s not for lack of trying. Like, really trying—by basically begging everyone they could think of. As Daily Kos reported just a few weeks ago, the list of people who said no to No Labels was quite long:
- Former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
- Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
- Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels
- New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu
- Failed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley
- Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick
- Businessman Mark Cuban
- Retired Navy Adm. William McRaven
- Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
You might notice that most of the people on that list are Republicans, though the group was apparently desperate enough to ask the Democratic former governor of Massachusetts if he’d be willing to give it a go.
But that’s no accident. In December, the group’s chief strategist admitted that the “unity” ticket didn’t need to have any Democrats on it. A Republican and an independent would do just fine!
Well, it turns out the No Labels ticket won’t have a Democrat on it after all. Or a Republican. Or anyone at all. Or an independent. What a shame.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.