By THOMAS BEAUMONT (Associated Press)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The third-party presidential movement No Labels decided Friday to field a presidential candidate in the 2024 election after months of weighing the launch of a so-called “unity ticket” and discussions with several prospects.
Delegates voted in favor of moving forward during an online convention of 800 of them from every state, said Mike Rawlings, a former Dallas mayor who is affiliated with No Labels.
No Labels was not expected to name its presidential and vice presidential nominees Friday. Instead, the group will announce its candidate selection process on March 14, Rawlings said in a statement.
“Even though we met virtually, their emotion and desire to bring this divided nation back together came through the screen,” Rawlings, Friday’s convention chair, said about the delegates in a written statement.
The decision to move forward comes as a number of would-be candidates have already turned down the idea of running, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination after former President Donald Trump won big across Super Tuesday’s GOP primary map.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had weighed running for president under the No Labels banner but has since decided to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from his state. Retiring West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has said he will not run for president.
Romps by Trump and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, on Super Tuesday all but ensured a November rematch of the 2020 election. Polls suggest many Americans don’t have favorable views of Biden or Trump, a dynamic No Labels sees as an opening to offer a bipartisan ticket.
But Biden supporters worry No Labels will pull votes away from the president in battleground states and are critical of how the group won’t disclose its donors or much of its decision-making.
The executive director of the group…
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