(The Center Square) — A third party considering a presidential run in 2024 is working to secure ballot access in all 50 states, including South Carolina.
According to a party spokesperson, No Labels is on the ballot in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah. However, the party is not on the ballot yet in South Carolina.
“We have a strategy to get on the ballot in all 50 states,” a spokesperson told The Center Square. However, the spokesperson did not respond to a request for more details about the party’s plan to secure ballot access in South Carolina.
“A No Labels candidate, assuming there is one, will have virtually no effect on the outcome in South Carolina,” Richard Gordon, president at Gordon Strategic Advisors, told The Center Square via email. “The Republican nominee, whoever he or she is, will win South Carolina handily.”
However, if the party runs a center-right candidate like U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, it could have “a devastating effect” on the Democratic nominee in a state like Georgia, where President Joe Biden won by less than 12,000 votes, Gordon said.
Last week, the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Executive Council certified three candidates to participate in its Feb. 3 primary: President Joe Biden, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota, and author Marianne Williamson. Two candidates filed but were not certified: Eban Cambridge had an incomplete candidate filing, while political commentator Cenk Uygur doesn’t meet the constitutional requirements to hold the office, the party said in a news release.
On the Republican side, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, businessman Ryan Binkley, Texas Air National Guard Maj. David Stuckenberg and lawyer John Anthony Castro will appear on the Feb. 24 primary ballot. Scott has suspended his campaign.
“South Carolina is a state where a specific candidate is best positioned to get on the ballot. Currently, No Labels has not announced a candidate,” Javier Palomarez, founder and CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council, told The Center Square via email. “With 59% of Biden voters and 46% of Trump voters unenthusiastic about voting for either candidate, a No Labels ticket is positioned to offer precisely what South Carolinian voters are seeking.”
