A third-party group, No Labels, is hoping to shake up the 2024 presidential election by proposing a Republican-led unity ticket to challenge President Joe Biden, who is widely expected to run for reelection. The group, which aims to promote bipartisanship in Washington, is currently looking at former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan as a potential candidate to lead the unity ticket. This comes as the group faces skepticism and backlash from political experts and strategists, who question the feasibility and impact of a third-party challenge in the upcoming election.
There are concerns that a third-party run could hurt Biden's chances of winning a rematch against former President Donald Trump, who is expected to run again in 2024. However, Joe Lieberman, the founding chairman of No Labels, has stated that stopping Trump from being reelected is their top priority, even surpassing their goal of promoting bipartisanship in Washington.
Despite its struggles to attract a candidate for a third-party run, No Labels is pushing forward with its plans. The group announced the formation of the Country Over Party Committee, which will be responsible for selecting a presidential candidate for the group. Lieberman has stated that an announcement on their candidate could come as early as March 21.
🚨Statement from Chief Strategist @RyanClancyNL:
“Now that No Labels’ delegates have given the go ahead for us to accelerate our candidate search for a Unity ticket, voters will read plenty of speculation about who would be on it. But No Labels has not yet chosen a ticket and…
— No Labels (@NoLabelsOrg) March 8, 2024
While the group has received some criticism and skepticism from political experts and strategists, it continues to move forward with its efforts. However, No Labels faces several challenges in its quest for a third-party candidate. Some of these challenges include a lack of a national figure to entice voters, potential difficulty in securing ballot access in all 50 states, and the possibility that a third-party run could ultimately harm Biden's reelection chances.
Additionally, the proposed candidate for the unity ticket, Geoff Duncan, is a relatively unknown figure in national politics, which could potentially harm the group's chances of garnering significant support. Many experts believe that a more prominent Republican figure would be needed to attract voters and stand a chance against well-known candidates like Biden and Trump.
No Labels also faces criticism for its timing, with some questioning why the group is pushing for a third-party run so early in the election cycle. Some believe it would be more effective for the group to wait until after the 2022 midterm elections, which could potentially shift the political landscape and provide a better opportunity for success.
On the other hand, some experts believe that a third-party candidate could ultimately hurt Biden if they manage to take enough votes away from him in the general election. This could potentially lead to another cycle of election denialism, where both sides refuse to accept the results due to the influence of a third-party candidate.
Despite the potential challenges and criticism, No Labels remains determined to pursue its goal of a third-party unity ticket. The group currently has ballot access in 16 states and is working towards securing access in 33 states. However, until a credible candidate is announced, many experts and strategists remain unimpressed and question the impact and feasibility of the group's plans.
They believe that it is too early to determine whether No Labels' efforts will help or hurt either Biden or Trump in the upcoming election. They argue that there are many other factors at play, and it is difficult to predict the outcome at this point. However, they do acknowledge that a strong third-party candidate could potentially have an impact on the election and are urging the group to wait until they have a clear strategy and party platform before moving forward with their plans.