The visual displayed a modern-day Odd Couple, former U.S. senator Joe Lieberman standing beside former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory. They joined together to announce that a self-described centrist group named NO LABELS intends to field a candidate for president in all 50 states.
In explaining his support, McCrory said he is neither a “radical extremist Republican” nor a “left wing RINO” (Republican in name only) and is “tired of the two major parties nominating candidates who the majority of people don’t support.”
NO LABELS has garnered support from civil rights activist Ben Chavis, former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, Liberman, McCrory and others nationwide. They intend to run a “unity ticket” in ’24 to give an alternative to President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
In order to gain access on the North Carolina ballot, the group had to get signatures from 0.25 percent of those who voted in our 2020 gubernatorial election and have at least 200 signatures in three congressional districts. This is a high bar, but they have already exceeded that requirement and the State Board of Elections is expected to formally recognize them soon.
“The people are saying very loudly that two parties might be nominating two candidates that most people don’t want,” McCrory said. “To me the two parties are failing.”
It is understandable that many Republicans might be receptive to NO LABELS. GOP members essentially have four options. They can embrace and defend Donald Trump, clearly the primary force in their party. They could criticize and condemn Trump and those who support him. Third, they can just keep quiet and hope this takeover of what truly was a Grand Old Party runs out of steam, Trump is put in jail or the rapture comes. In silence they continue enabling him. Their last option is to just leave the party. So far, option three appears to be the choice for the majority of Republicans, but NO LABELS is hopeful that enough will sign on to their efforts for a more centrist ticket.
Democrats, while not facing quite the same situation, also have frustrations. The traditional North Carolina Democrat worries that the ultra-liberal faction of their party has too much influence. Many privately think Joe Biden is a good man and has certainly done what he promised in bringing normalcy to the Oval Office. Quietly and methodically, he has even gotten programs through Congress; still they express concern about his age and mental state.
There is no question neither of the two established parties are voter favorites, as evidenced by the growing percentage of unaffiliated voters. Political pundits like to point out that even though voters are unaffiliated they have leanings to one party or the other. Perhaps, but they could have chosen one or the other party and didn’t. As of last October, 36% of NC voters are registered unaffiliated, 34% are registered Democrats and 30% are Republicans.
NO LABELS calculates the field is fertile for a third-party. Michael Bitzer, the respected Catawba College political science professor said, “Third parties tend to be spoilers in elections. And because of our level of deep polarization, we obviously have a group of voters that have said, ‘I don’t want to be associated publicly with either political party,’” adding, “the two parties tend to recognize when there are third parties nipping at their heels and adjust themselves accordingly.” If they don’t adjust? Bitzer said “that’s when a third-party can come in — like the Republicans did with the Whigs.”
Here’s my spin: I would LOVE to see a viable third party in our state, fielding a slate of candidates that forced the other two into more mainstream realities. Especially if this third option truly offered more centrist and less partisan candidates.
But as much as I enthusiastically endorse the concept, I have concerns. Unless the NO LABELS candidate can garner more than 40% of the total vote, the effort will likely result in the election of Trump. Here’s why: In 2020, Donald Trump got 47% of the popular vote. Hell could freeze over but the Trump cult is going to show up in strong numbers to vote for him. Now it’s possible that some percentage of his ‘20 vote will split from him. But the unanswerable question is how much? The 51% that went to Biden will also surely be divided by a third-party candidate, so even with a smaller percentage, Trump’s numbers will still be larger than either Biden’s or the NO LABELS candidate. But that’s just the popular vote.
More importantly is who will win the 50 states. We have had elections where the candidate who ended up in the White House did not get the majority of popular votes but won the important electoral college votes. Who knows how a third-party candidate might skew those numbers?
I am emphatic in the belief this country could not stand four more years of Donald Trump and if a NO LABELS movement results in that happening, it will be disastrous
Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina Broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965. His weekly half-hour TV program, NC SPIN aired for 22 ½ years. Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com.
