No Labels group still plans to seek candidates
Leaders of the moderate group No Labels decided Friday on a Zoom call with hundreds of supporters to move forward with selecting candidates for a thirdparty ticket that would challenge both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in November.
There was no discussion on the call of specific potential candidates, a critical piece of the puzzle the group has not yet clarified. The group’s leaders said they would announce a selection process for presidential candidates March 14, with a possible convention to be held virtually no later than early April — with as little as 48 hours notice.
“It is possible in the end we won’t find suitable candidates. We all realize that,” said Mike Rawlings, a former Dallas mayor and CEO of Pizza Hut, who ran the call and is overseeing the convention process. “We have always said it is going to take a lot of courage to do this. … We are not just going to settle for anyone.”
The decision marks a setback for Biden allies who have been working furiously for months to discourage the group and any potential candidates from plowing ahead with a project they fear will help Trump at the polls.
Rawlings said there were 832 delegates from all 50 states on the call. The assembled group voted electronically on the question of “Should No Labels move forward in conversation with potential candidates for the unity presidential ticket?” Rawlings said the result was one short of a unanimous “yes” vote, though he did not provide the specific total.
Before the meeting began, the group played the “No Labels Anthem” by Akon, a song recorded in 2010 for the group. “Put your differences aside, man, if you can,” sings the Senegalese American singer known for the 2006 hit “Smack That.” “Cause there’s way too many people suffering.”
Several political leaders who had entertained the possibility of running on the No Labels ticket have announced in recent months they will not join the effort, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has recently left open the possibility of heading a No Labels ticket after calling the effort “a fool’s errand” last summer when he was running for president as a Republican. Haley, who has not endorsed Trump, has repeatedly ruled out participating in a thirdparty bid.
Without a candidate in the offing or clear polling showing a path to electoral college victory, No Labels has struggled for months to come up with a plan for finding a face for their effort or crafting a public process to make the selection. The initial plan for an in-person nominating convention in Texas next month was scrapped, as were discussions for a series of public forums in which potential No Labels contenders could showcase their visions.