No Labels still pursuing third-party candidates after Manchin’s decision not to run for president

The No Labels organization says it is still considering options for a third party presidential candidate after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., decided not to run.

“We’re talking with several exceptional leaders. We have our own internal process,” No Labels national co-chair, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, said Sunday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.” 

“In the next couple of weeks or more, we will probably make an announcement whether or not we will give the ballot access to a unity ticket,” Chavis, a longtime civil rights activist and former executive director of the NAACP, added. “A unity ticket means a Republican and a Democrat. And we are talking to Republicans, Democrats, and independents.”

Chavis said that No Labels has qualified for the ballot in 16 states so far ahead of the 2024 election and is still working to qualify for all 50, pushing back against co-host Michael Steele’s argument that it would be challenging for No Labels or any third-party ticket to win come November. 

JOE MANCHIN WILL NOT LAUNCH THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL RUN

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 23: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) talks to reporters as he leaves the Senate floor following a vote on January 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. Negotiations over border security, military aid to Ukraine and Israel, and the government budget continue this week on Capitol Hill.  (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“It’s a long, tedious process. And we’re very pleased with the voter access that we’ve gotten so far. And we’re going to keep pushing,” he said. 

“We’re in a state of uncertainty in our nation. The only thing that’s certain right now is uncertainty,” So I don’t think we should speculate on what’s going to happen because nobody really knows. What we do know is that the majority of the American people don’t want to see a repeat of 2020,” Chavis added. 

Manchin announced Friday that he will not be running for president, shooting down months of speculation that he would join the race on a third-party ticket. 

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 26: Dr. Ben Chavis serves as panelist for the Real Talk Drives Real Change Tour at Lincoln Theatre on June 26, 2022 in Washington, DC.  (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)

FORMER MARYLAND GOV LARRY HOGAN ANNOUNCES REPUBLICAN RUN FOR SENATE

“I will not be seeking a third-party run, I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said during a speech at West Virginia University as part of his “listening tour” that kicked off last month with his daughter’s campaign group “Americans Together” — a movement that touts itself as the “moderate majority” that rejects the “extremism in politics.” 

MEET THE PRESS — Pictured: Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) appears on Meet the Press in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023.   (William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images)

Another potential No Labels candidate, former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a vocal critic of former President Trump, decided earlier this month instead to run for an open U.S. Senate seat in his state to be vacated by the retiring three-term Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.

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No Labels, which has vowed not to choose a spoiler candidate for either Trump or President Biden ahead of a likely 2020 rematch, said it would decide whether or not to put forward a unity presidential ticket around Super Tuesday on March 5.