On Monday, two national leaders of the No Labels movement will be in New Hampshire to unveil their organization’s platform for the 2024 presidential election. It’s an announcement that will generate plenty of political attention for the bipartisan group — with a bit left over for New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
At the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, No Labels will present their “Common Sense agenda of 30 big ideas to tackle America’s greatest challenges through bipartisan problem-solving,” according to a statement.
They will also offer “perspectives on the No Labels Insurance Policy 2024, our plan for a potential bipartisan Unity ticket in next year’s presidential election.” The “insurance policy” is the organization’s premise that Americans don’t want another Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump election and will be looking for an alternative. They claim they polled 26,230 registered voters in December 2022, “which revealed American’s profound frustration, their desire for more choices for president beyond what the two major parties are offering.”
If, however, it’s not a Biden v. Trump showdown in 2024, the group says, they will stand down.
As No Labels co-founder and former Bill Clinton staffer Holly Page says, “We just have to have the option should we need it.”
No Labels plans to lay the groundwork and get ballot access for such an alternative ticket. And one of the names frequently mentioned is Gov. Chris Sununu.
The Wall Street Journal recently editorialized that “a moderate Republican like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu at the top of the ticket” would be a smart choice for a third-party alternative. The Union Leader responded to the WSJ editorial: “We hope New Hampshire’s governor is listening.”
And what does Sununu say? During an interview on Thursday, Sununu told NHJournal the No Labels project is “nothing I’m considering.” He said his goal “is really about getting a good Republican candidate. And I have a day job: Running the state and being the host [to 2024 candidates], that’s all I’m focused on.”
But Republican operatives, both in New Hampshire and D.C., tell NHJournal that while the New Labels strategy is still a long shot at best, the natural appeal of a Sununu candidacy remains — regardless of what he’s saying today.
“Sununu can say anything he wants now,” a GOP strategist told NHJournal Monday. “But if it’s spring of 2024 and it’s Trump and Biden, and No Labels has $100 million and they’re on the ballot in a bunch of states, Sununu can always say ‘I just can’t support the Republican nominee’ and jump in the race. What’s to stop him?”
Sununu says he still hasn’t decided if he’ll run for a record fifth term as governor. But with No Labels planning its convention in Dallas on April 14, his options will be wide open, Republicans note. The New Hampshire presidential primary will be long over, the GOP’s nominee almost certainly selected (Super Tuesday’s 15 states vote on March 5) — and the Granite State’s filing period for the September primary won’t even have opened yet.
“If a third-party race looks serious, why wouldn’t Sununu consider it? Trump already hates him. What’s he got to lose?” a longtime New Hampshire Republican said.
Sununu also brings another potential edge few other candidates can match: He would have a realistic shot at delivering his home state’s Electoral College votes. How many politicians in America can say the same?
Lou Jacobson, senior author of the “Almanac of American Politics 2020,” just released his latest predictions for the 2024 presidential race, and he has the Granite State as “leans Democrat.” Given that Republicans have only carried the state once since 1992 and the entire federal delegation is made up of Democrats, why isn’t New Hampshire in the “likely Dem” column?
In part, Jacobson told NHJournal, it’s based on feedback he got from his New Hampshire sources regarding the sentiment on the ground. But there’s also the dynamic of Biden’s snub of the Granite State and his poor poll numbers in the state, which could make it easier for Democrats to abandon their party’s likely nominee.
Asking those Democrats to back Trump, however, is likely a bridge too far. But Sununu? Many Granite State Democrats have voted for Sununu at least once already.
And is it really a coincidence that No Labels has picked New Hampshire as the place to launch its 2024 effort?
Other politicians mentioned as potential No Labels candidates are Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) — who has said he’d be willing to consider the idea — and Sen. Kirsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).
In the past few days, Democrats and their allies have begun aiming their fire at the No Labels effort, fearing it would inspire more of their party members to abandon a Biden ticket than Republicans pulled away from Trump. According to Politico, the far-left group MoveOn.org and liberal organization Third Way are teaming up to brief the staffs of Senate Democrats later this month regarding the danger No Labels represents to the party.
Former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s nominee for vice president in 2000, doesn’t agree.
“The strongest feeling among the No Labels members is that they don’t want President Trump to get reelected again,” Lieberman said.
That’s a message Chris Sununu can support.
