No Labels won’t run a third-party campaign after spending millions trying to recruit a candidate

The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after strategists for the bipartisan organization were unable to attract a candidate willing to seize on the widespread dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

“No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,” Nancy Jacobson, the group’s CEO, said in a statement. “No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.” It also further cements a general election rematch this fall between the Democratic incumbent and the former president. Many voters do not have favourable views of Biden and Trump, a dynamic that No Labels had sought to address.

The decision caps months of discussions for No Labels, which has raised tens of millions of dollars from a donor list it has kept secret. While its decision will disappoint people seeking a potentially viable third-party option, it will come as a relief to Democrats who long accused the group of effectively helping Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

The Wall Street Journal first reported No Labels’ decision.