Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels’ effort to lay the groundwork for a centrist third-party presidential ticket in 2024.
The 67-year-old lawyer, a Democrat who left office in 2017, will serve as No Labels’ director of ballot integrity, giving the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the effort could unintentionally help Republican Donald Trump return to the White House.
Nixon said in an interview with The Associated Press that he was drawn to the role after learning that well-funded groups aligned with Democrats were working to stop No Labels from securing ballot access in key states.
“What do I say to those Democrats? I say, ‘You’re entitled to your opinion. But we are also entitled to use our constitutional and statutory rights to allow Americans to have another choice,’” Nixon said.
President Joe Biden and Trump have dominated the 2024 campaign conversation so far. But No Labels, a Washington-based group that promotes compromise, national unity and centrist policy solutions, has been preparing for the strongest third-party presidential bid at least since Texas businessman Ross Perot earned nearly 19% of the popular vote in 1992.
Working with an operating budget of roughly $70 million, No Labels is taking steps to secure presidential ballot spots in roughly 20 states this year; the group has done so already in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon and Utah.
While No Labels has yet to nominate candidates for president and vice president, its leadership insists there is a path to victory for a centrist third-party ticket “if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.”
The group’s critics across the Democratic Party are terrified that No Labels will siphon votes that would otherwise go to Biden, who narrowly beat Trump in 2020 with a coalition that included moderate Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans.
Former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat who represented Missouri for 12 years in Congress, was also critical of the effort. “It is because we care deeply about our democracy that many thoughtful patriotic Americans are worried about this effort,” she said. “They know, and the data is clear, that their efforts will only do one thing in 2024. And that is to help the criminally indicted Donald Trump.”
Meanwhile, Nixon joins a growing roster of former elected officials in both parties now affiliated with No Labels. Among the others: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; former Govs. Jon Huntsman Jr., R-Utah, Larry Hogan, R-Md., and Pat McCrory, R-N.C.; and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat who became an independent late in his political career.
Manchin and Huntsman, ambassador to China under President Barack Obama and to Russia under Trump, hosted a town hall in New Hampshire this month, driving speculation they may ultimately become the No Labels presidential ticket.
No Labels plans to hold a presidential nominating convention next April in Dallas, and the group is showing no signs of backing off its 2024 plans. With a massive budget fueled by anonymous donations, No Labels can afford to be patient in the fights ahead.
Democrats in Arizona filed a complaint this month with the secretary of state asking to have the group suspended until it discloses it donors. In May, Maine’s top elections official sent a cease-and-desist letter regarding No Labels voter registration efforts after claiming the group was misleading voters.
Nixon, who declined to criticize Biden or Trump, said he understands that he is walking into a political firestorm. But he said he is passionate about No Labels’ constitutional right to secure a place on the ballot.
“I feel calm. I feel correct. I think we have a high moral ground here,” he said.
