No Labels, the “political organization” that acts like a third party but refuses to call itself one, has announced through a press release that it is no longer pursuing candidates to represent the group on a presidential ticket.
The political group had offered to sponsor a so-called “unity ticket,” potentially with a moderate Republican presidential candidate and a moderate Democrat, but now those plans have fizzled out.
“Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run, and hungrier for unifying national leadership, than ever before. But 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,” the group’s press release said.
The announcement has left supporters of the group frustrated with the lack of progress and a sense of time and effort wasted. However, with a candidate field that already has enthusiastic support for Trump and even a potential Biden spoiler in the form of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent run, there likely wasn’t much room for yet another candidate to gain much traction. Already, a number of potential No Labels candidates had either turned down the offer or failed to act, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) included.
With little surprise, Joe Cunningham, the No Labels national director, said he would vote for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, which seems a clear indicator of the group’s overall tone and goals.
Truth be told, while Americans do generally want civility and a return to unity, running on what is a broadly publicized uniparty platform does not seem like it would generate much traction, as the idea of a uniparty is precisely the kind of “swamp” conception that voters have been revolting against.
Instead, the current American zeitgeist is all about anti-establishment and populist ideas versus entrenched establishment and corrupted government bureaucracies. If anti-populist “Never-Trumpers” were looking for a “moderate” alternative to Donald Trump, or at least a Trump spoiler, those hopes seem to have evaporated for the time being.
Another massive flop for the never-Trumpers.https://t.co/HHsspW3TB9
— Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchweikart) April 5, 2024
