Former Georgia lieutenant governor withdraws name from No Labels consideration

Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said Monday he is withdrawing his name from consideration to run on a third-party presidential ticket backed by the political organization No Labels.

“After careful deliberation, I have withdrawn my name from consideration for the No Labels presidential ticket,” Duncan said in a statement, reported by The Associated Press.

“It was an honor to be approached, and I am grateful to all those who are engaged in good-faith efforts to offer Americans a better choice than the Trump vs. Biden re-match,” Duncan, a frequent critic of former President Trump, added.

Duncan’s announcement comes as No Labels seeks to solidify a presidential “unity ticket” ahead of the 2024 election. The group announced earlier this month that it has voted to nominate a ticket but did not announce which candidates it would select.

For months, the centrist political organization has toyed with the possibility of running a bipartisan ticket as an alternative to a rematch between President Biden and Trump, both of whom recently secured enough delegates to win their parties’ respective nominations.

In recent weeks, however, a number of possible candidates have publicly said they would not run on a No Labels ticket.  

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) opted to run for U.S. Senate instead of launching a third-party bid. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman have all said they are not interested in running.

Duncan said he would focus his attention on “healing and improving the Republican Party with a GOP 2.0 so we can elect more common-sense conservative candidates in the future.”

During the 2020 election, Duncan fiercely defended Georgia’s election integrity, even as the state became the target of Trump’s alleged election subversion efforts. Duncan testified before the Fulton County grand jury that eventually revealed a sprawling Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations indictment against Trump and many of his allies.