No Labels, Amid Trouble Finding Candidates, Announces Vetting Committee for Third-Party Presidential Ticket

A 12-person “country-over-party committee” nominating committee, appointed by the third-party group No Labels amid troubles making up its mind, will decide in the coming weeks which two candidates will appear on the group’s presidential “unity” ticket.In a video announcement posted online, No Labels’ national convention chairman, Mike Rawlings, a former mayor of Dallas, introduced the names of the committee members and laid out the vetting and selection process the group will use to determine its presidential and vice-presidential candidates.Included in the committee are No Labels’ founding chairman, Senator Lieberman, who formerly represented Connecticut in the upper chamber, the civil rights leader Benjamin Chavis Jr., Admiral Dennis Blair, and General Burke Whitman. Both the admiral and general are retired.“The results of this rigorous process will be closely reviewed by members of the country-over-party committee and then they will deliberate to select the unity ticket,” Mr. Rawlings said. “Once they’ve settled on a ticket featuring one presidential candidate and one vice-presidential candidate, they will recommend the ticket to No Labels delegates for a nomination vote.”“If this ticket receives majority support from No Labels delegates, they will be given the official nomination and appear on the ballot as the No Labels unity ticket,” Mr. Rawlings said. The announcement comes nearly one week after No Labels’ 800 delegates met virtually and voted to proceed with running a third-party ticket. It also comes one day after the resignation of the No Labels co-chairman, Pat McCrory, for undisclosed reasons.Mr. Rawlings said the candidates it selects will be “expected to make two foundational commitments,” which include endorsing the group’s platform laid out in its “Common Sense” policy booklet and agreeing to six core principles. These principles include bipartisanship, respect for the military, and centrism. Another is that, “We can still love and respect people who do not share our political opinions.”No Labels has said that it is already vetting candidates. The group previously said it would nominate its presidential ticket in early April, but in a letter sent out Thursday, Mr. Lieberman gave a timeline of “later this spring.” His letter also suggested that no candidates have been chosen yet or agreed to run on the No Labels line.“If No Labels is unable to find candidates who meet this high threshold, then we simply will not offer our ballot line to anyone,” Mr. Lieberman wrote. In other words, No Labels could yet become No Candidates.No Labels’ chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, told the Sun in January that all the group’s polling that shows a third-party path to victory features a moderate Republican as president and a moderate Democrat in the vice-presidential slot. A former Georgia lieutenant governor, Geoff Duncan, reportedly met with No Labels supporters last weekend. A telegenic anti-Trump Republican, Mr. Duncan fits the No Labels candidate criteria. Several other centrists with national name recognition, such as Senator Manchin, Governor Hogan, Senator Sinema, and Governor Haley, have all declined to run with the group.Democrats fear a No Labels presidential ticket would turn out to be a spoiler and help President Trump get re-elected. In January, No Labels asked the Justice Department to investigate potential criminal charges against Democratic-leaning operatives and political groups harassing No Labels members and trying to thwart the group’s ballot access efforts. No Labels has ballot access so far in only 16 states.“This effort was not launched or conceived as an effort to stop Trump,” Mr. Clancy told the Sun. “The number one priority that we have right now is giving voters the choice they clearly want.”

No Labels, Amid Trouble Finding Candidates, Announces Vetting Committee for Third-Party Presidential Ticket

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