Ben Chavis: No Labels ‘talking with several exceptional leaders’ about possible runs

No Labels national co-Chair Ben Chavis said Sunday that the organization is “talking with several exceptional leaders” about potential bids for the White House.

No Labels has been pushing for a “unity ticket” with one Democrat and one Republican for the 2024 presidential election but has not publicly confirmed who their candidates will be. In an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” Chavis did not specifically name whom the organization has been talking to. 

“Well, we’re talking with several exceptional leaders. We have our own internal process. And, first of all, we welcome Senator Manchin’s commitment to continuing to work for the commonsense majority,” Chavis said, referring to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“As we said, No Labels has worked 14 years to build a movement to represent the commonsense majority of all Americans. And, of course, my background is in civil rights. I believe in extending voting rights to all Americans, making sure that every state has ballot access based on the will of the people of those states,” he added.

Manchin was floated as a possible candidate for the No Labels effort, but he announced Friday that he would not be running for president. Chavis, along with former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), also said Friday that they were speaking to “several exceptional leaders.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was also discussed as a potential candidate for No Labels, but he has since announced a bid for the U.S. Senate. When pressed further on who will be at the top of No Labels’s ticket, Chavis said that the organization will know who the candidates are in a couple of weeks.

“We have not made that decision. We are — I can say for the record, on your program this morning, that we are talking to exceptional Republicans, exceptional Democratic and independent leaders, and we will — we’ll know in the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Some Democrats and other critics have said No Labels’s efforts to put forward a unity ticket could potentially hand the election to former President Trump. Chavis said Sunday that handing the election to Trump “is not our intention.”

“We’re not going to be a spoiler for anyone,” he said.