NEW YORK (AP) — no label The group announced Thursday that it would not campaign. presidential candidate In November, bipartisan organization It was unable to attract prominent centrists who wanted to take over the government. widespread dissatisfaction President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.
“No Labels has always said we issue ballots only when we can identify a candidate with a credible path to winning the White House,” said Nancy Jacobson, the group's CEO. '', he said in a statement to alliance officials. “No such candidate has emerged, so the responsible action for us to take is to resign.”
The unexpected announcement further cemented the showdown between unpopular major party candidates Biden and Trump in the general election, leaving anti-vaccine activists behind. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As the only prominent outsider still seeking the presidency. President Kennedy said he had collected enough signatures to qualify for the fall ballot in five states.
The No Labels decision was made just days after his death. Founding Chairman Joe Lieberman, ended months of controversy in which the group raised tens of millions of dollars from a secret donor list. That drew cheers from relieved Democrats who had long feared that a no-label ticket would collapse Mr. Biden's coalition and help Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. .
The Wall Street Journal first reported No Labels' decision.
“Millions of Americans are relieved that No Labels finally did the right thing in keeping Donald Trump out of the White House,” said Lana Epting, executive director of MoveOn, a critic of No Labels. “I'm doing it,” he said. “Now, it's time for Robert Kennedy Jr. to see the writing on the wall that a third party has no path to the presidency. Donald Trump, the greatest threat to our democracy and our country. We must come together to defeat it.”
Stephanie Speer, a spokeswoman for President Kennedy, said the No Labels fight is “evidence of the stranglehold on American democracy by the corrupt bi-monopoly of two major parties.”
President Kennedy announced on the same day that he had collected enough signatures to qualify for the general election in five states, including the battleground states of Nevada and North Carolina. American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy's campaign, said it had collected signatures in support of Kennedy in several other states, including battleground states Arizona and Georgia. Democrats are contesting the validity of the signatures collected by the group, which is not legally allowed to coordinate with Kennedy.
No Labels announced it had qualified for voting in 21 states, but ultimately the centrist group was unable to convince top moderates in both parties to embrace its movement.
Norabelle delegates voted overwhelmingly in March to begin the process of creating a bipartisan presidential and vice presidential ticket. But by then, No Labels had been rejected publicly and privately by many Democratic and Republican candidates.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last month, said she would not consider running on an unlabelled ticket. Sen. Joe Manchin (R-Va.) has ruled out running, and former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) has decided to run for the Senate.
Last month, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, also said he would not run under the No Label banner.
The group was considering nominating a “unified ticket” that would field a presidential candidate from one major party and a vice presidential candidate from the other major party to appeal to voters dissatisfied with Biden and Trump. .
Matt Bennett of the centrist group Third Way, which has been fighting NoLabels' 2024 ambitions, said: “We are extremely relieved that everyone has rejected the offer and been forced to resign.” “Although the threat of third-party spoilers remains, this unique and damaging attack on President Biden and the Democratic Party from the centrist camp is finally over.”
Biden supporters feared No Labels would draw votes away from the president in battleground states and criticized the group for not disclosing too much about its donors and decisions. No Labels did not appoint all delegates, and most of its deliberations were held in secret.
Dan DuProw, a 33-year-old salesman in Philadelphia who was supposed to be a delegate to the No Label competition, said the decision was unfortunate but wise. He trusts No Labels' leadership to make the right decisions.
“I understand why they made the decision and I think it's the right thing to do at this time,” Duprow said. “But I'm very disappointed that we have Trump and Biden again. I think this is very scary for our country.”
Mr. Duprow said he would now decide between Mr. Biden and Mr. Kennedy.
“I'm excited to have options outside of the two major parties,” he said.
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.
