No Labels director says Nikki Haley ‘somebody we’d definitely be interested in’

Joe Cunningham, national director for the political organization No Labels, said Sunday that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is “somebody we’d definitely be interested in” as a potential candidate to lead a third-party ticket in the 2024 general election.

“We’re looking for great quality people, folks that have broad appeal to independents, Democrats, Republicans. And, yeah, I mean, Nikki Haley is somebody we’d definitely be interested in,” Cunningham said in an interview on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends Sunday.”

Cunningham said he’s optimistic that the group can secure ballot access in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. So far, the group has secured access in 16 states, even though it has not announced which candidates would lead the ticket.

“The truth is we’re talking to a lot of spectacular people right now, and we’re not ready to unveil those folks just yet,” he said.

No Labels was initially formed as a nonprofit organization more than a decade ago with the goal of pushing for bipartisanship and helping find common ground between the two main political parties.

But the group began gathering signatures from voters to gain ballot access for a potential independent presidential bid, as President Biden and former President Trump seem increasingly likely to become their respective parties’ nominees.

“This has been a project to essentially give Americans another choice. If they’re unhappy with the presumptive nominees, which, you know, it appears it’s going to be Trump versus Biden right now, but we don’t know,” he said.

“Nikki Haley, she’s … remaining in the race. You can’t count her out completely. And hats off to her for staying in it and for sticking with it,” he added.

In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for Haley’s campaign pointed to earlier statements in which Haley said she was not interested in running on a third-party ticket.

“Nikki has no interest in No Labels. She’s perfectly happy with the Republican label,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Haley has repeatedly pledged to remain in the race — despite losing every primary contest so far in the cycle and coming up short in almost every poll against Trump.

On Saturday, Haley lost the Republican primary in her home state of South Carolina by about 20 points, according to Decision Desk HQ’s election results tracker.

Updated 3:22 p.m.