Lieberman interested in Christie joining No Labels ticket

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Thursday that he wants former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to consider a third-party presidential bid with No Labels after Christie ended his GOP campaign.

Lieberman, chair of No Labels, brushed off previous comments from Christie denouncing the group’s push for a bipartisan third-party ticket.

“Look, earlier in the year when he was asked about No Labels, he basically said it was not an effort that had any chance of succeeding, but maybe the world will look different to him now,” Lieberman said in a SiriusXM interview with Michael Smerconish. “And I’d like to reach out to him and see if he, Gov. Christie, is at all interested in being on a bipartisan No Labels Unity ticket this year. He could be a very strong candidate.”

Lieberman said Christie “might well be” No Labels “material,” referring to the anti-Trump former governor as “refreshingly independent.” 

“That’s the kind of candidate No Labels is looking for,” he said.

When asked about No Labels in July, Christie called its effort “a fool’ s errand.”

“I’m not in this for showtime. I’m not in this for making a point,” he said. “I’m in this to get elected President of the United States, and there are only two people who will get elected President of the United States: the Republican nominee for president and the Democratic nominee for president.”

The No Labels effort has attracted bipartisan criticism, with detractors claiming that the group’s attempt to run a third-party ticket with one Democrat and one Republican has no chance of finding success. Some critics have suggested such a ticket could instead draw votes away from President Biden, potentially leading to former President Trump winning another term in the White House.

Lieberman shot back at those criticisms, reiterating that the group does not want to play spoiler or help elect Trump.

“None of us want to be spoilers here, and to be more explicit, most of us at No Labels certainly don’t want to be spoilers who help reelect Donald Trump because as much as we are focused on restoring bipartisanship, national interest, et cetera, to our government, you know, Trump represents a whole series of separate challenges, threats to our government beyond too much partisanship,” he said.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has attracted the most attention for a potential No Labels bid. Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) have also been raised as potential candidates.

The group has not announced whether it will select a presidential candidate, but supporters launched a super PAC to back the effort this week.