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

The No Labels group says it’s still contemplating choices for a 3rd get together presidential candidate after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., determined not to run.

“We’re talking with several exceptional leaders. We have our own internal process,” No Labels nationwide co-chair, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, stated 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 government director of the NAACP, added. “A unity ticket means a Republican and a Democrat. And we are talking to Republicans, Democrats, and independents.”

Chavis stated that No Labels has certified for the poll in 16 states up to now forward of the 2024 election and is still working to qualify for all 50, pushing again towards co-host Michael Steele’s argument that it might be difficult 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 ground following a vote on January 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. Negotiations over border safety, navy help to Ukraine and Israel, and the federal government price range proceed 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 stated. 

“We’re in a state of uncertainty in our nation. The only thing that’s certain right now is uncertainty,” So I don’t assume we should always speculate on what’s going to occur as a result of no one actually is aware of. What we do know is that almost all of the American folks don’t need 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’ll not be in search of a third-party run, I’ll not be concerned in a presidential run,” Manchin said during a speech at West Virginia University as part of his “listening tour” that kicked off final month with his daughter’s marketing campaign group “Americans Together” — a movement that touts itself as the “average 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.