The self-described centrist group No Labels has been rejected, again, by a potential candidate for its bipartisan presidential ticket.
No Labels voted two weeks ago to plow ahead with its so-called “unity ticket,” a move that will likely unleash chaos on the 2024 election. The third-party movement has not named its presidential and vice presidential nominees, who are meant to represent both parties, but No Labels was reportedly considering former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.
But Duncan, a Republican, poured cold water on that idea Monday. “After careful deliberation, I have withdrawn my name from consideration for the No Labels presidential ticket,” he said in a statement. “In addition to my private sector career and earning a living for my family of five, I am focused on healing and improving the Republican Party with a GOP 2.0 so we can elect more common-sense conservative candidates in the future.”
It’s unclear who will actually run on a No Labels ticket. In fact, No Labels itself doesn’t even know who could run on its ticket. The group, which has repeatedly been accused of running a pro-Donald Trump spoiler campaign, has promised only to run a ticket if the group believed it had a candidate that could actually win.
During the vote two weeks ago, members praised each other for being courageous and patriotic. But the fact remains that all of No Labels’s reportedly preferred candidates have either been generally unpopular or, like Duncan, have said no—and in some cases, both.
Prior to Duncan, the group reportedly courted Nikki Haley, Joe Manchin, and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential primary earlier this month after a terrible performance, while Manchin is one of the most unpopular senators nationwide. Both turned down No Labels before a formal offer could be made.
Hogan, who left office with record-high approval ratings, had weighed a presidential run on a No Labels ticket. But he ultimately decided to run for Maryland senator instead.
Duncan was unlikely to garner nationwide support. While Duncan was one of the few Republican leaders willing to state that the 2020 election hadn’t been rigged, and he defended Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger against Trump’s conspiracy attacks, Duncan also holds several deeply conservative stances that would have made him unpopular with the majority of the country.
He opposed the Affordable Care Act and expanding Medicaid. Duncan is also staunchly anti-abortion, backing multiple restrictions on abortion access in Georgia and describing Planned Parenthood as a “malicious organization” during his 2018 campaign.
It’s starting to become normal for No Labels, a purportedly nonpartisan group, to court right-wing or right-leaning connections such as Duncan. The organization has accepted donations from a man with close financial ties to Jared Kushner, as well as Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow.
One of the group’s members is former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, who oversaw a contentious, highly partisan, and decidedly far-right four years. He defended voter ID laws, rejected the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid, and backed a bill that banned people from using the bathroom that matched their gender identity.
President Joe Biden just got another win in his monthslong standoff with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. On Monday, the nation’s highest court ruled that the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 4 would be further delayed until the legal challenges against it are settled.
The court waited until the eleventh hour to issue a ruling—even allowing the delay to lapse for several minutes—before extending the administrative stay indefinitely.
“It is ordered that the stay issued on March 4, 2024 is hereby extended pending further order of the undersigned or of the court,” read a court order issued by Justice Samuel Alito.
SB 4 proposed allowing Texas police to question and arrest anyone they believed might have illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, and granting them the authority to charge them with misdemeanors for first-time offenders and felonies for repeat offenders. It also would have allowed Texas law enforcement to deport immigrants back to a port of entry along the border. The contentious bill was signed into law by Abbott and was supposed to take effect on March 5—until the Justice Department and several civil rights groups got involved, arguing that the bill went way too far, stepping on the toes of the federal government. Earlier this month, Alito placed a temporary stay on the case, which expired at 4:00 p.m. CDT on Monday.
Local authorities, however, have indicated that their policies will remain relatively unchanged by the outcome.
“We are aware of the governor signing SB4 into law effective March 2024. Given the stated goals and implementation parameters discussed in the state legislature, we will comply with the law and do not expect to make any substantive changes to SAPD policy or practice,” the San Antonio Police Department told NewsNation on Monday.
Biden and Abbott have had a similar legal showdown over a length of concertina wire along the U.S.-Mexico border, which ended in a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court that sided with Biden.
“Texas has the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said at the time.
A conservative influencer has been arrested for participating in the January 6 insurrection.
Isabella Maria DeLuca faces a total of five misdemeanor counts: one each for theft of government property; entering restricted buildings or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted area; disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol Building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing........