Dem
51
GOP
49
Democrats are worrying themselves silly that the No Labels group, which is funded by dark money millionaires, will put up a candidate who will draw just enough votes away from Joe Biden to elect Donald Trump next year. However, there is one small detail still unanswered (other than where the $70 million, which the group claims, came from): Who will be the candidate? That kind of matters. Joe Manchin is publicly toying with the idea, but Manchin knows he has a decent shot at being reelected to the Senate, where he has real power, but roughly zero chance of being elected president on any third-party ticket. He loves the publicity, but we doubt he will do it. Another potential candidate is former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, who has said he won't do it. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie called it "a fool's errand." Now, former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels has also said he won't run either. He scoffed at the idea. Daniels, who famously avoids labels like "conservative" and "liberal" (though he was elected to office as a Republican), would be a great "No Labels" candidate—except for the fact that he finds the idea absurd.
Another potential candidate is Democrat and former Missouri governor Jay Nixon, who is serving as No Labels' "Director of Ballot Integrity." He said he was drawn to the role when he learned that Democrats were trying to block the group from getting on the ballot in many states. It is aiming at getting on the ballot in 20 states. It is already on the ballot in key swing state Arizona, as well as Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah, none of which are in danger of flipping due to a third party. Would Nixon be willing to run for president? He's not saying, but if he does, it won't be long before we start seeing signs saying: "No more Nixons."
The tricky part for No Labels is finding a high-profile Democrat who is willing to run and who might actually draw some Democratic votes. Plenty of washed-up Republicans are potentially interested, such as former North Carolina governor Pat "Bathroom Bill" McCrory. But Republicans are not likely to get Democrats to vote for them, which is the goal, after all. So the search will continue for a Democrat who is willing to help defeat Joe Biden and elect Donald Trump. (V)