“No Labels is preparing to possibly field a third-party candidate in 2024…In audio obtained by Insider, one top leader said it would be a ‘flip of a coin.’”
In a shocking new report from Business Insider, No Labels leader Jon Huntsman admitted that to pick who would be at the top of their “unity ticket,” the Republican-funded group would decide by the “flip of a coin.”
Read more below:
Business Insider: Audio: No Labels leader says it’s a ‘flip of a coin’ whether a Democrat or Republican would be the third party’s 2024 presidential candidate
By Bryan Metzger | July 25, 2023
Key Points:
- Centrist group No Labels is preparing to possibly field a third-party candidate in 2024.
- But it remains unclear whether their candidate would be a Republican or a Democrat.
- In audio obtained by Insider, one top leader said it would be a “flip of a coin.”
- If No Labels were to promote a third-party presidential candidate in 2024, would that person be a Democrat or a Republican?
- At a town hall event hosted by the centrist group in New Hampshire last week, former Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah — who’s long been involved with the group’s activities — was asked that very question.
- “I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen, but we’ll see when we get there,” replied Huntsman, according to an audio recording of the interaction obtained by Insider. “It would be a very interesting experiment. Flip of a coin? How all major decisions are made.”
- The answer to that question has significant ramifications, both for the kind of voter the ticket would attract and for the policies the hypothetical candidate would enact if elected.
- For now, the answer to that question remains undetermined.
- It’s a sign that No Labels’ planning for next year’s presidential election remains in its infancy, even as it seeks to earn a spot on 2024 ballots in states across the country.
- “We haven’t made any decision on whether we will offer our ballot to a ticket or who would be on it,” said No Labels spokesman Ryan Clancy in a statement to Insider. “Our focus for the foreseeable future is getting ballot access and spurring conversation around our Common Sense policy booklet.”
- Publicly, the group has said that it is “preparing for the possibility” of naming a candidate but has not committed to doing so, and will decide to do so based on polling and how the 2024 general election shapes up.
- On the hot-button issue of abortion, the document argues for a “balance between protecting women’s rights to control their own reproductive health and our society’s responsibility to protect human life” but avoids arguing for any particular restrictions or national law.
- Democrats have argued that a No Labels-backed ticket could not win a majority of Electoral College votes and that it would only hurt President Joe Biden’s reelection chances and help ensure that a Republican — likely former President Donald Trump — would win in 2024.
- Some Republican lawmakers agree.
- “The No Labels effort would elect Donald Trump,” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, a Trump critic, recently told The Hill.
- The group has also faced calls to disclose its donors, which it’s not required to do as a non-profit organization.
- But historically, the group has been supported by some Republican donors, including those who’ve also contributed to Trump.
Published: Jul 25, 2023 | Last Modified: Apr 3, 2024