No Labels calls on state Democrats to rescind anti-third-party tactics

No Labels, an organization exploring a third-party ticket for the 2024 election, is asking state Democratic Party officials to cease anti-third-party rhetoric and interfering with its attempts to offer voters an alternative candidate.

The organization’s leaders sent an open letter to state party chairs on Tuesday, framing their plans as a promotion of Democratic ideals that President Joe Biden stands for. This is the latest hurdle for No Labels, as many Democratic lawmakers and allies fear that a third-party ticket will take support away from Biden and help former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner for president.

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No Labels referred to a ProPublica interview with Biden, in which the president says the organization has a democratic right to create a new party.

“He has a democratic right to do it. There’s no reason not to do that,” Biden said, referring to founding No Labels Chairman Joe Lieberman. “Now, it’s going to help the other guy, and he knows. That’s a political decision he’s making that I obviously think is a mistake. But he has a right to do that.”

No Labels has sought to open the door for a third-party candidate in several presidential elections. For the 2024 election specifically, the group hoped to provide alternatives to Trump or Biden for voters who do not want to see a repeat of 2020. They launched a $70 million campaign to secure an independent ticket in several states. So far, No Labels has gained access to ballots in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, South Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Utah, Oregon, and North Carolina as of August.

However, former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, Benjamin Chavis, and Lieberman accused Democratic National Committee state leaders of working to “extinguish that flame” of liberty to “limit Americans’ choices in the 2024 election.”

“And we hope you will not be a party to this undemocratic campaign,” the No Labels leaders said, adding that they expect the leaders of the Democratic Party to refrain from “blatantly anti-democratic behavior.”

No Labels argued that the anti-third-party rhetoric and efforts to prevent an independent ticket are attacking the “fundamental democratic and constitutional principles” of the Democratic Party.

“It is the American people, ‘we the people,’ who decide who appears on ballots, and it is American voters who have shown support for No Labels by signing petitions in states across the nation to add No Labels to the 2024 ballot,” No Labels said.

Biden and the DNC have offered little comment on the No Labels’s third-party initiative. However, groups like Third Way, MoveOn, and the Lincoln Project have made a public case against the group, arguing that an independent ticket will secure a GOP victory.

Other political figures are weighing in on the potential for a third-party candidate. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, has called the movement a “fool’s errand.” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who some say lost the 2016 election in part due to a third-party candidate, reportedly warned Biden that he needed to take the third-party threat seriously.

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Cornel West is running as a member of the Green Party, and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly considering switching to an independent ticket. Kennedy is expected to make the announcement next week.

Other names garnering speculation over a third-party run include Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. Hogan ruled out a Republican bid for the White House but has not dismissed a third-party campaign. Manchin, who has not announced if he is running for reelection in 2024, has thrown around several future plans, including pursuing higher office or leaving politics altogether.