Report: Both Parties Worked to Derail No Labels

(AP)

Unlikely political allies from both major parties worked to derail No Labels from presenting a third-party presidential ticket in November’s election, NBC News reported.

No Labels founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson on April 4 announced the group was abandoning efforts to create a bipartisan “unity ticket” aiming to win the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The announcement came after No Labels failed to attract candidates, as Jacobson described, “with a credible path to winning the White House,” the Journal reported.

No Labels’ initial plan was derailed by Democrats and Republicans who saw the third party as a potential threat to helping former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election, according to NBC News.

Trump is expected to oppose President Joe Biden in November.

Members of each major party saw a No Labels big-name ticket as potentially resulting in an undesirable election outcome. They were helped by a No Labels delegate who had grown disillusioned and started leaking information, according to NBC News.

Third Way, a Democrat-aligned group that claims to be moderate, worked to dissuade possible No Labels candidates on its side after securing the blessing of party leaders in the White House, on Capitol Hill and in the Democratic National Committee.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported Third Way’s effort.

Rahna Epting, executive director of the liberal group MoveOn, worked closely with Third Way Vice President Matt Bennett to undermine No Labels.

“Our partnership with Third Way to come together and stop No Labels may be surprising to some, but it is a testament to how high the stakes are to keep Trump out of the White House,” Epting said, NBC News reported.

Ironically, Jacobson helped raise the initial money to start Third Way.

Anti-Trump Republicans allies appealed to potential candidates.

“You’re not building a pro-Biden coalition; it’s an anti-Trump coalition,” GOP strategist Sarah Longwell, who supported the anti-No Labels effort, told NBC News. “They absolutely would subtract people who, when push comes to shove, will vote for Joe Biden.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, and former Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam were among potential candidates contacted.

Every potential candidate got a message tailored to their respective concerns from credible people who included local business leaders, clergy and former aides.

“This was elite-driven,” Bennett said, NBC News reported. “We knew they [No Labels] had enough donors that we couldn’t deny them money. But we also knew enough about their donors to know they would expect a high-level candidate with a certain stature and would not accept someone who was not obviously credible.”

No Labels also was hurt by the rise of third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Journal reported.