Dem
51
GOP
49
The No Labels group, which is funded by shady dark money, doesn't have any candidates but just keeps going, despite no one being interested in what they are selling. This fuels the suspicion it is funded by Republican billionaires with the goal being getting moderate Democrats to vote for their candidate, rather than for Joe Biden. So far, the plan is not going well. Currently, it is on the ballot in only 17 states and has a long list of high-profile people who have turned down the offer of leading their ticket. These include:
Democrats don't want the role because they know it will help Donald Trump. Republicans don't want it because it would infuriate Trump. Also, all of them know it is pointless, and third parties do "well" only when the candidate has a strong ideological base, like George Wallace in 1968, or the candidate is a billionaire with some appeal and unlimited funds, like Ross Perot in 1992.
The group is already at war with its own stated policy. It has repeatedly said that it will field a candidate only if it has a real chance to win. It doesn't want to be a spoiler, so the No Labels folks say. At the very least, if the group is not on the ballot in states with at least 270 electoral votes, it can't win, so if it follows its own principles, it should fold its tent and walk proudly into the sunset. But as it goes further down the food chain and starts interviewing county commissioners, town supervisors, and people who failed to win the election to be dogcatcher somewhere, the chances of winning even a single electoral vote are getting smaller and smaller.
The real reason No Labels keeps going is that the Republican megadonors like Allan Keen, Tom McInerney, and Michael Smith keep funneling in money to keep it alive in the hopes the No Labels candidate will hurt Biden. But if they can't find a candidate anyone has heard of, it will be money down the drain. If you want a more detailed report on what is really going on with No Labels, check out this long article in Mother Jones. (V)