No Labels pushes ahead with third-party ticket plans

No Labels is moving ahead with plans to field a third-party “Unity presidential ticket” — though the group has yet to identify who will run under the banner.

Mike Rawlings, No Labels national convention chair, said hundreds of delegates participated in a national call Friday and “sent an unequivocal message: Keep going.”

“They voted near-unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the Unity presidential ticket,” Mr. Rawlings said in a statement. “Every one of our delegates had their own explanation for wanting to move ahead.”

No Labels has been looking to make a big splash in the general election, but it remains to be seen who will lead their charge.

Nikki Haley, who recently suspended her Republican presidential campaign, has ruled out running as a third-party candidate.

Sen. Kirsten Sinema of Arizona, the Democrat turned independent who announced this week she is not seeking re-election, has thrown cold water on the idea.

Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, took his name off the board last month, saying he didn’t want to be a “spoiler.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has decided to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.

“Voters will read plenty of speculation about who would be on it,” said No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy. “But No Labels has not yet chosen a ticket and any names floating around are being put out there by someone else.”

Mr. Rawlings said Friday No Labels plans to increase its candidate recruit efforts and said it will outline the process for how it will select its standard bearer on Thursday.

The group’s plans have received a lot of attention this election cycle.

With polls showing a broad distaste for President Biden and former President Donald Trump, a well-organized third-party effort could reshape the electoral calculus — particularly in battleground states where the margin of victory in recent presidential elections has been slim.