by Michael Lyle, Nevada Current
Though initially qualifying to be on Nevada’s 2024 general election ballot, the national group No Labels won’t be including a third party candidate in the state after all.
In fact, no state will have a No Labels candidate for its proposed third party “unity ticket” after the group recently announced it failed to find a suitable choice.
During a virtual briefing on Friday, No Labels National Convention Chair Mike Rawlings said that “Americans are hungrier than ever for an alternative,” but the group wasn’t able to find a candidate “we felt had a viable path to the White House.”
“While this is disappointing, we don’t believe it is the end of our journey,” he said.
The announcement comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist running a long shot independent presidential bid, has hit a snag being included on Nevada’s ballot.
His campaign announced in March it had collected the needed signatures to be included on the ballot in Nevada.
But Nevada law requires independent presidential candidates to include a vice presidential candidate in order to qualify for the ballot, which Kennedy lacked when he submitted the requisite signatures for his petition.
The Nevada Office for the Secretary of State said it made an error in providing Kennedy with incorrect information on how to qualify, which included having a vice presidential candidate.
The office maintains state law applies to Kennedy’s bid regardless, though the campaign has threatened to sue for access to the ballot.
Kennedy last month announced his vice presidential candidate, California ultra-wealthy attorney Nicole Shanahan. The campaign has until July 5 to collect signatures.
No Labels didn’t directly mention any of the presidential candidates by name – including the people interviewed for a potential third party run – during its Friday virtual briefing. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin had spoken at No Labels events in recent months, but Manchin in February announced he would not be making a presidential run.
Former Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, now working with No Labels, said that “the two major candidates are both running divisive campaigns,” referring to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump
“Neither is presenting to us, to America, a vision of unity,” he said.
None of the speakers on Friday offered details on what they believed constituted being “divisive” or mentioned Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election through the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Kennedy’s independent presidential bid wasn’t referenced at all.
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