MANCHESTER, NH — No Labels is taking another notable new step toward a possible third-party presidential bid in 2024, hosting a campaign-style event in New Hampshire on Monday featuring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
The move comes as the Washington-based advocacy organization seeks to recruit a Democrat and a Republican to form a bipartisan 2024 presidential ticket, a prospect that could send an unpredictable jolt through the 2024 presidential race, which starting from now tends to a rematch. between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
No Labels founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson told NBC News that No Labels is close to its fundraising goal of $70 million, which will go towards its efforts to gain access to ballots for its presidential bid. in all 50 states. No Labels is scheduled to hold a convention next April in Dallas, where it will formally nominate its presidential bid.
Manchin continued to leave the door open to a third-party presidential bid with No Labels, repeatedly refusing to rule it out in an interview with NBC News.
“It will be next year,” Manchin said of his timeline for deciding what to do, which means speculation about it (and his West Virginia Senate seat) will drag on until 2024.
“Let’s see where everyone goes. Let’s see what happens,” said Manchin, an outspoken critic of partisanship in Washington. “Maybe they’ll come to their senses and start doing the job they were appointed to do.”
Many national Democrats fear that Manchin, who has often opposed his party and cut parts of the legislative agenda of fellow Democrats in Congress, could siphon votes away from Biden if he or another prominent Democrat joined a third party next year. anus.
One of the most striking differences between Biden’s victory in 2020 and Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump four years earlier was the low share of voters choosing a third-party candidate in 2020. The share of third-party votes fell from 6% in 2016 to 2% in 2020.
And according to the NBC News exit poll, a majority of those who voted for a third party in 2016 decided to back Biden four years later, helping to deny Trump re-election. Now Democrats worry that a rising third-party vote in 2024 will serve to lower the threshold Trump needs to win again, much like in 2016, when 47% to 48% of the vote was enough for him to capture key battleground states. .
Manchin dismissed Democratic fears that a presidential race fueled by No Labels would boost Trump.
“Nobody at No Labels that I’ve ever talked to would be a killjoy,” Manchin said. “No spoilers [on] here to give an advantage to one side or the other. We hope both parties reach their sensible middle ground.”
“When are people going to say enough is enough?” Manchin said about partisan politics. “We hear it every day. ‘Enough is enough. Can’t you work together? What about us? What about this great country of ours?’”
Manchin wasn’t the only partisan politician on the track Monday: Republican Jon Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China and governor of Utah, also joined Manchin in New Hampshire. Ahead of their trip, No Labels announced the couple as the headliners for their “Common Sense Townhall” Monday night at Saint Anselm College, a common landmark for presidential candidates. The two previously spoke at a restaurant in Manchester to a group of guests who received private invitations.
Huntsman, who sought the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2012, told NBC News he has “no plans at this time” to run with a third-party candidacy in 2024.
No Labels leaders, including former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat-turned-independent, and former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, remain mum on possible candidates, though two sources familiar with the group’s deliberations said NBC News that the ticket could include people who have not previously been elected to public office.
Last week, businessman Mark Cuban told NBC News he would not be joining No Labels, but hailed the group’s plans as “very important,” adding: “I like that they are trying a new path. I think the two-party system is broken.”
An NBC News poll in June showed that 44% of voters nationwide said they would consider voting for an independent or third-party candidate for president in 2024.
And, importantly, the poll found that Democratic-leaning voters are more open to the idea of backing such a candidate, illustrating why party voices have been so outspoken against the plans. of No Labels by 2024.
