The director of bipartisan political organization No Labels, Joe Cunningham, announced that he would vote for President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election over former President Donald Trump. This decision came after the group abandoned plans to field a third-party candidate in the 2024 election, citing a lack of viable candidates with a credible path to victory. Cunningham, a former Democratic congressman from South Carolina, explained that the group had been searching for a bipartisan “hero” to support but had come up empty. Despite this decision, No Labels has vowed to remain engaged throughout the election season, expressing concerns about the division and strife gripping the country.
The move to abandon plans for a third-party candidate came after the death of No Labels’ founding chairman, former U.S. senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. Lieberman had previously indicated that a No Labels presidential ticket would be announced in the near future, but the organization ultimately decided against it. Lieberman, who became an independent in 2006, expressed a preference for Biden over Trump in a previous interview and voiced concerns about inadvertently helping to reelect Trump by running a third-party ticket. The specter of Ralph Nader’s third-party candidacy in the 2000 presidential election, which many believe led to Al Gore’s loss to George W. Bush, loomed large in these considerations.
Stefanie Spear, the press secretary for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., criticized No Labels’ decision to abandon its 2024 plans, arguing that it reflected a lack of enthusiasm for establishment candidates. Spear emphasized the success of insurgent populist candidacies like Kennedy’s, noting that voters are increasingly interested in alternative choices beyond the traditional two-party system. No Labels’ failure to field a candidate was seen as evidence of the entrenched control of the “corrupt two-party duopoly” on American democracy. Spear proclaimed that the election marked the end of “lesser-of-two-evils voting” and signaled a growing readiness for a third choice among voters.
Regarding the decision to support Biden over Trump, both Cunningham and Lieberman cited concerns about the potential consequences of a third-party candidacy on the outcome of the election. Lieberman, in particular, expressed a strong opposition to inadvertently facilitating Trump’s reelection and suggested that this sentiment was shared by a majority of people within No Labels, including its leadership. The group’s focus on finding a candidate with a viable path to victory underscored their commitment to promoting bipartisanship and addressing the country’s political divisions. Despite abandoning its 2024 plans, No Labels remains committed to playing an active role in the upcoming election, aiming to address the challenges facing the nation and prevent further division and strife.
