No Labels, the centrist organization plotting a potential 2024 presidential ticket, has 13 possible candidates to challenge a rematch of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The group is expected to determine sometime after March 15 whether to put forward a unity ticket. If Trump appears to be the likely Republican nominee, No Labels is most inclined to announce its choice for a president and vice president alternative, according to the group.
No Labels has found that a potential ticket with a Republican presidential nominee coupled with a Democratic vice presidential nominee performs better than the opposite scenario. The organization’s founder and CEO, Nancy Jacobson, and chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, relayed this information to an exclusive group of supporters Monday in Vero Beach, Florida.
“The bottom line was they were making the case that it is a winnable year as long as it’s Trump and Biden,” a source in attendance told the Washington Examiner.
No Labels has said previously its likelihood of nominating a presidential ticket in 2024 is dependent on the nominees put forward by the major parties, namely Trump.
The sentiment was reiterated during the Monday event, where the group’s leaders shared that they would put up a ticket if Trump seems likely to be the nominee come March. If former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were to upset Trump and take the GOP nomination, they wouldn’t feel as inclined to offer an alternative.
The revelation that 13 people are on the short list for contenders is new, as the group remained tight-lipped on the ticket’s prospective presidential and vice presidential candidates.
“They believe they have a path to victory with the right unity ticket of a Democrat and Republican,” the source said following the Florida event.
No Labels has stopped short of declaring publicly its path to the White House definitively exists, instead only revealing that it is weighing options. But the group telegraphed confidence with its presidential prospects when speaking with supporters, per the source.
At the event, Jacobson and Clancy answered questions about potential contenders but were careful not to name any of the 13 people being considered.
Some of the names that have been publicly speculated for a No Labels ticket are former GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), former GOP Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH). Supporters asked the No Labels leaders about a handful of potential candidates Monday, including Manchin and Hogan, and Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), someone who hasn’t yet been mentioned in association with the group.
Hogan recently resigned from his leadership position at the centrist organization, freeing him up to land on the group’s presidential ballot line possibly.
“Everybody talks about the names, but they certainly did not confirm any of the names,” the source in attendance said.
As No Labels prepares for the scenario in which Trump wins the Republican nomination and the group subsequently puts forward a 2024 ticket, a super PAC has launched to back the selected candidates.
On Wednesday, the New Leaders 2024 PAC filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s chief of staff Kathleen Shanahan will serve as chief executive, and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s deputy chief of staff Rob Stutzman will advise the PAC. Andrew Fishman, who the group confirmed is a Democrat, will serve as the PAC’s treasurer.
In the past, Shanahan has served as a special assistant to then-Vice President George Bush, former chief of staff for then-Vice President Dick Cheney, and a senior Florida adviser for the late Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Stutzman worked previously as an adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) 2008 presidential campaign.
“We’re hitting the ground running,” Stutzman told the Washington Examiner of the new super PAC. “We announced [Wednesday] the bank account filing.”
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“We’re announcing now to be ready if we’re needed,” he explained. “We think that timeline could escalate depending on how the Republican primaries play out.”
The formation of the super PAC was previewed to supporters at the Vero Beach event, signaling No Labels’s preparedness to jump into the race.
