No Labels won’t run third-party campaign after trying to recruit centrist presidential candidate

The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization failed to attract a high-profile centrist willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Biden and Donald Trump. “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,” Nancy Jacobson, the group’s CEO, said in a statement sent out to allies. “Millions of Americans are relieved that No Labels finally decided to do the right thing to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” said MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting, a No Labels critic. We must come together to defeat the biggest threat to our democracy and country: Donald Trump.” Stefanie Spear, a spokesperson for Kennedy, said No Labels’ struggles were “testimony to the stranglehold of the corrupt two-party duopoly on American democracy.” No Labels said it had qualified for the ballot in 21 states, but ultimately, the centrist group could not persuade a top-tier moderate from either party to embrace its movement. “We are deeply relieved that everyone rejected their offer, forcing them to stand down,” said Matt Bennett of the centrist group Third Way, which had been fighting No Labels’ 2024 ambitions.