Democratic Party strategists and operatives are panicking after the centrist group, No Labels, reported over 15,000 voters registered in the state of Arizona, according to the Associated Press.
No Labels is seeking ballot access in multiple states ahead of potentially nominating a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election, according to the AP.
The group reported that it has registered over 15,000 voters in Arizona, prompting fears among Democrats that it will draw votes away from President Joe Biden in the crucial swing state.
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“If they have someone on the ballot who is designed to bring the country together, that clearly draws votes away from Joe Biden and does not draw votes away from Donald Trump,” Arizona Democratic strategist Rodd McLeod told the AP.
“We need to convince the political world that being involved with this is a bad idea,” Matt Bennett, executive vice president of Third Way, a center-left group, said, according to the AP.
Arizona’s presidential vote was one of the closest in the 2020 election, with Biden winning by an approximate 0.3% margin after Trump had won the state in 2016.
In Arizona, No Labels registered over 13,500 new voters in Maricopa and Pima counties, which encompass the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, respectively, the AP reported, while 1,900 other voters came from other counties. Approximately 50% of the August registrants were formerly independent voters, while 25% were newly registered voters, 14% were Democrats and 11% were Republicans.
No Labels has sought Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — who is currently trailing in 2024 reelection polls to Republican Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia — to run for president on the party banner. The group hosted him for a town hall in New Hampshire on July 17 alongside former Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah.
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“These are unprecedented times,” Benjamin Chavis, a former head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who now supports No Labels, told the AP. “Never before has such a large number of Americans expressed their concerns and expressed their views and their aspirations for more choices.”
The group has repeatedly stated that it will only nominate a candidate if a clear path to victory emerges, with a decision to be made after the Super Tuesday primary contests in 2024, the AP reported.
“This is something we’re still working through,” Ryan Clancy, the chief strategist for No Labels, told the AP.
The Democratic and Republican National Committees, the Biden and Trump campaigns and No Labels did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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