What is the U.S. centrist No Labels movement — and will it have a third-party candidate in 2024? | CBC Radio

The director of No Labels, a U.S.-based non-profit political organization, believes the time for a different kind of presidential candidate may be coming.

The centrist organization bills itself as a home for voters who are tired of the “extremes on the left and the right,” according to its website. No Labels is yet to commit to running a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, but the group is preparing for the possibility, according to Joe Cunningham, a former Democratic congressman and the organization’s national director.

Supporters say the movement could bring both the Democrats and Republicans closer to the political centre. Detractors say a third party could make it easier for former president Donald Trump to win in 2024, if he becomes the Republican candidate again.

Here is part of Cunningham’s conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal..

Joe, what makes you think that now is the right time?

I’ll paraphrase Victor Hugo, who said: There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. 

And when you take a step back and you look at the landscape right now, in 2023, a Gallup poll that came out said that almost half of Americans identify as independents, which is equal to [those who identify as] Democrats and Republicans combined. [The majority] of America does not want to see this rematch between Trump and [Joe] Biden. 

There’s a loud signal being sent by the American people that they want another voice, and they want another choice.

At this point, No Labels has said that it’s pursuing a plan for a potential presidential run, but what would shift that to a full commitment? 

There are two criteria to be met. Number one, the major presidential nominees from both parties have to be viewed so unfavourably by the majority of Americans…. Number two, the ticket we put together has to have a pathway to victory through the electoral college. 

If all of a sudden the mood of the country shifts, where they want a binary choice, then we’ll back down. There aren’t any cowboys here that are hell-bent on charging forward if it’s going straight into a loss. 

We put out this book called Common Sense. It’s a reflection of the majority of Americans who feel either disenchanted or pushed out by their political parties and want something new.

There’s been some criticism of Common Sense. That it’s too light on specific details about solutions that No Labels would offer, and that the leaders in this group don’t necessarily agree on some of the biggest issues. 

That’s fine. There are some things in there that I publicly disagree with as well. Oftentimes on the campaign trail I quote the former mayor of New York City Ed Koch who said, “If you agree with me on seven out of 10 things, I say, vote for me. And if you agree with me on 10 out of 10 things, I say see a psychiatrist.”

Right. But how do you put out a platform as a party without agreement on the biggest issues that Americans are dealing with? 

Well, we’re not a political party. This is a movement. It’s a non-profit. And I would say that if a ticket is nominated, those two individuals would be putting out their own firm stances. 

What this booklet is, is just a reflection of where the vast majority of Americans are. And it shows the country, and particularly our politicians, that despite how contentious immigration is or abortion or guns [are], there are a lot of things that the vast majority of Americans agree on, [like] universal background checks for gun safety. 

Congresswoman Annie Kuster said, “Their plan to run a third-party ticket in 2024 will pave the path for the most extreme far right candidate to win the White House, namely former president Trump.” How do you respond to that concern?

People have developed strong opinions about this. We haven’t even decided to run a ticket yet, [or] who those candidates would be.

I would push back on the notion that no matter what type of candidate we nominate, it would automatically help Trump, because the polling and data that we’ve done and we’ve spent a lot of money and a lot of time in doing this, shows that such a ticket would pull evenly from both sides.

We’re not interested in getting in this to spoil an election. The people would not be involved in this effort if that were the case. 

What we’re doing is creating an insurance policy. We have an eternity between now and next November. So things could shift dramatically in one direction or another. And we’re just trying to be prepared for that. 

If you see Trump, though, as a problematic candidate, how concerned are you that you could risk getting him elected by just putting out these feelers now? 

Well, I don’t see it that way. 

I have concerns as a Democrat when I see polls that have Biden losing to Trump. So I guess the same question should be asked as to why Democrats are putting out a candidate where maybe only three out of 10 or four out of 10 Democrats support his re-election. 

And I can tell you right now, Nil, I would not be engaged in anything that — I voted to impeach Donald Trump, to hold him accountable. He cannot hold the White House. And I would not want to be engaged in any effort to help him out at all. Full stop.