Democrats sound alarms over No Labels third-party bid

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is advocating against a third-party presidential run by a candidate backed by No Labels, in fear that they would imperil a President Biden victory in 2024. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is advocating against a third-party presidential run by a candidate backed by No Labels, in fear that they would imperil a President Biden victory in 2024.

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The group No Labels was founded in 2010 with the goal of encouraging bipartisan cooperation and countering America's angry politics. Thirteen years later, it has many Democrats in Washington angry — not to mention scared.

Earlier this month, the that the group is planning to run a moderate Republican at the top of the 2024 presidential ticket.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she believes the group is not truly nonpartisan, but that it and its donors want to advance Republican policies.

"I think that our democracy is at risk, and I think that No Labels is perilous to our democracy," she warned. "I say that without any hesitation."

is reportedly concerned that No Labels could end up electing Donald Trump, and former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt with the specific aim of countering No Labels.

When No Labels , co-founders William Galston and David Frum — assistants to former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively — aimed to have citizens monitor their elected officials.

"They will highlight those officials who reach across the aisle to help solve the country's problems and criticize those who do not," Galston and Frum wrote at the time. "Politicians, media personalities and opinion leaders who recklessly demonize their opponents should be on notice that they can no longer do so with impunity."

in all 50 states and, in , "building a data vault to target and turnout the commonsense majority."

Trump has long had a commanding lead in Republican primary polls, making it increasingly likely that 2024 will be another Biden-Trump matchup. No Labels argues that because both President and are unpopular — both have net-negative favorability ratings — voters would be best served by a candidate they could feel more enthusiastic about.

It's not clear how much a third-party candidate would be a spoiler in 2024, nor is it clear which party they would draw more votes from. In an , respondents were given a choice of Biden, Trump and three generic third-party candidates. The result was a dead heat between Trump and Biden — similar to their two-way dead heat the poll also found.

But a generic candidate is not the same thing as a potentially well-funded or well-known (or both) candidate — nor is it the same as a candidate associated with one particular party. No Labels' found that a Republican candidate at the top of its ticket would fare better in swing states than a Democrat.

Galston, a No Labels co-founder, left the group earlier this year over fears that the group might help elect Trump. But he adds that, with independent candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West running, he's not sure what a No Labels candidate's effect might be.

"I have to say that since [leaving No Labels], the situation has gotten a lot more complicated. Because it's clear that a No Labels independent candidacy would not be the only one," he said. "They could have various kinds of influence on the outcome."

Pelosi told reporters that she draws a distinction between independent presidential candidates like Kennedy and a No Labels-backed candidate. She claimed the group is in fact aiming to push conservative ideology, under the guise of nonpartisanship.

"This isn't about a person running and putting forth his or her credentials," she said. "This is about an illusion being created, that it's about nonpartisanship and bringing people together."

In a statement countering Pelosi, No Labels pointed out that it has Democrats among its leadership, and that it supports bipartisan legislation.