The Wall Street Journal reports:

A centrist group is laying the groundwork to run an alternative candidate if the 2024 presidential race becomes a Donald Trump–Joe Biden rematch.

It is called No Labels, but many political strategists have their own label for it: spoiler.

History and recent polling suggest a third-party candidate has little chance of winning and could tip the election to Trump, the Republican former president who No Labels itself says is too dangerous to return to the White House. A No Labels candidate could swing the race in critical states or help ensure no candidate gets to 270 electoral votes, which would let state delegations in the House pick the winner, likely favoring the GOP.

Ben Chavis, a former NAACP executive director and a national co-chairman of No Labels, rejects the characterization of the nonprofit group as a spoiler.

“Americans want more choices rather than a repeat of the 2020 presidential race,” Chavis said.

The names involved in No Labels constitute a mostly moderate mix of Democrats and Republicans. In addition to the left-leaning Chavis, other national co-chairs include two Republican former governors and Democrat-turned-independent former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Republican real-estate developer Harlan Crow, whose friendship with conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has come under scrutiny, is among No Labels’ supporters whose campaign contributions largely lean Republican.

The group hasn’t taken positions on major issues that divide the two leading parties, such as abortion access. It claims bipartisanship and centrism as its main values and says a more specific agenda is forthcoming this month.

No Labels—which by law doesn’t have to publicly name its donors—says it will evaluate its general election-chances after Super Tuesday primary voting in March. If it determines its “unity ticket” has an Electoral College path to victory, it will reveal its presidential and vice presidential picks at an April convention in Dallas.

Rick Wilson a veteran of GOP campaigns who co-founded the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, said No Labels is operating from a “fictional playbook” that has its candidate picking up wins in states that are difficult to envision, including Florida and Pennsylvania.

“It is a spectacular combination of hubris and irresponsibility at a level that I have trouble even believing,” Wilson said. “They’ve made a financial and personal decision to destroy Joe Biden.” [Continue reading…]