Joe Manchin heads to New Hampshire with No Labels amid talk of Biden challenge

Senator Joe Manchin is headed to New Hampshire next week for a No Labels event as the group appears to be a third-party candidate in next year’s presidential election and frantic Democrats are trying to stop it for fear Joe’s voting could siphoning Biden to give Donald Trump a victory.

Manchin, a former honorary co-chair of the group, will headline the rally along with former Republican Utah governor Jon Huntsman at the town hall meeting, which will take place Monday, July 17 at Saint Anselm’s College in Manchester, No Labels told DailyMail .com.

Democrats have been shocked by efforts by No Labels, an organization that promotes centrist, bipartisan policies and politics, to give Americans another option in the 2024 presidential ballot.

Polls show that more than half of Americans would like a different choice if Joe Biden and Donald Trump are their party’s respective nominees in next year’s election. And No Labels argues that a third party would do just that: give voters an option they say they want.

However, some Democrats are so concerned that a third-party candidate would gain enough support from Biden to give Trump a victory that they have moved from behind-the-scenes lobbying to outright war with the group.

No Labels hasn’t said who they’d consider for their third-party ticket, but the combination would likely be a Democrat and a Republican in the presidential and vice presidential slots.

Machin’s name repeatedly comes up as a possible contender, both because of his conservative Democratic policies and his long ties to the organization.

Huntsman ran an unsuccessful 2012 presidential campaign, where he became known for riding his motorcycle on the campaign trail and quoting rock lyrics in primary debates. His moderate stance included supporting climate initiatives. Democratic President Barack Obama appointed him his ambassador to China. And he was a popular governor in Utah, where his approval rating often reached 90%.

Biden, meanwhile, has made an effort to keep Manchin close. He invited the West Virginia senator to an event in June to celebrate his plan to install high-speed internet in rural areas — such as those that dominate Manchin’s home state. The president also hosted Manchin and his wife Gayle at a state dinner for the Prime Minister of India.

At next week’s event in New Hampshire, No Labels is launching its “Common Sense” agenda, which includes the debut of a policy booklet with 30 ideas to address America’s challenges, including the federal budget, immigration, energy, inflation , education and the global status of the country.

Other notables who joined Manchin and Huntsman in New Hampshire include former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; former Republican Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina; Civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, who serves as national co-chair of No Labels; former Director of US National Intelligence Dennis Blair; former Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan; and former Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina.

The event is a town hall event, according to No Labels, and will “give the American public a chance to watch two leaders practice what they preach — engaging in meaningful dialogue across party lines to address the pressing issues facing our country.” to do,” the group said. .

That American audience happens to be in New Hampshire, a state that holds the first nomination contest in the presidential primary system and is a key early predictor in the presidential race.

City Hall is No Labels’ first major public appearance on the presidential podium, as it investigates the running of a third-party candidate.

Polls show that only about half of Democrats think Biden should run again. And the president also faces waning support from two major voting blocs — black and Latino voters — that helped him win in 2020.

Some Democrats have expressed concern about Biden’s age — at 80, he is the oldest president in US history. He has also seen his approval rating fluctuate around the low 40s.

Meanwhile, Trump, 77, is the frontrunner in the Republican primary with no other contender close to his double-digit lead in the polls.

But the former president is also under federal indictment for alleged mishandling of secret documents, is facing charges in New York over a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the 2016 election, and is still under investigation by the Justice Department and the state of Georgia for any role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results.

However, many Democrats fear that a third-party candidate would siphon votes away from Biden and propel Trump to victory.

And some are starting a concentrated effort to stop No Labels.

Richard Gephardt, former leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, will launch a new bipartisan group next week to oppose No Labels efforts, The Washington Post reported, citing known sources.

Signing on board are former Democratic senator Doug Jones, who is close to Biden, and Republican strategist Stuart Stevens, who has worked for Mitt Romney and George W. Bush.

Other party officials storm Capitol Hill to try to quell talk of a third-party contender.

Officials from the progressive group MoveOn and the centrist group Third Way plan to brief the Democratic Senate Chiefs of Staff on July 27. Politics reported.

The invitation tells the chiefs of staff that the two groups want to “share some information they have on No Labels.”

Third way, in his analysis of the role a third-party candidate would run in the 2024 election and found that “a No Labels ticket cannot win the presidency and will be a spoiler that Trump gets re-elected.”

Biden’s victory in many battlefield states was close: He won Georgia by 11,779 votes, or 0.23%; Arizona with 10,457 votes or 0.3%; and Wisconsin by 20,682 votes, or 0.63%.

So the slightest shift in voting patterns could put any of those states in the red next year.

There is also concern that a No Labels candidate could receive enough votes to ensure that no candidate receives 270 electoral votes, allowing state delegations in the House to choose the winner. Republicans control the House, meaning the winner would want to be the GOP nominee.

In addition, there is concern among Senate Democrats that if Manchin, who is up for re-election next year in West Virginia, instead runs as the third presidential candidate, they could lose his seat to a Republican and potentially lose control of the Senate. to the GOP.

But No Labels is fighting back.

Former Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, an ally of the group who has also been cited as a possible contender for the third-party presidential list, told the Washington Post: “Francised Washington insiders in the Democratic Party who argue against voter suppression to be are actively working to suppress mood and deny choice.’

Manchin, meanwhile, told The Washington Post earlier this year, he didn’t rule out being on a No Labels ticket, if it comes to that.

“If enough Americans believe there is an option and the option threatens the far left and the far right, I think that will be the biggest contribution to democracy,” Manchin said. And as for the ticket, “I don’t include myself and I don’t exclude myself.”

No Labels is working on a ballot line for a presidential candidate in every state – a huge undertaking since each of the 50 states has its own rules on how a candidate makes the ballot.

It’s already on the ballot in Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon and Utah and plans to hold a national convention in Dallas April 14-15, 2024.

The group also reportedly has a $70 million war chest that it is willing to invest to get on the ballot.

No Labels has said it will evaluate its general election chances after the Super Tuesday primary in March next year.