Powerful centrist group mulling third-party run addresses Manchin rumors head-on

Democrats have been raising the alarm about a third-party "spoiler" effort that could upend the 2024 elections.

Fears appear to be increasing that Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia may join a third-party presidential ticket, which could potentially sink President Biden's re-election chances. 

If Manchin – who as a moderate Democrat often clashes with his party’s progressive wing, Senate leadership and the White House – does choose to mount a White House bid, Democrats fear they'll lose his seat in increasingly GOP dominated West Virginia, and potentially surrender the chamber's majority.

But No Labels, a centrist organization that's already taking initial steps to set up a bipartisan, third-party "unity ticket" in next year’s presidential election, says it's way too early to say if Manchin would be the standard-bearer on a potential 2024 ticket.

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"This is too premature. We have not made any decisions," No Labels CEO and co-founder Nancy Jacobson told Fox News this week.

Manchin has yet to announce whether he will seek another six-year term in the Senate in 2024. 

But he's also refused to shut down speculation about a possible presidential run.

"Not ruling anything in, not ruling anything out," Manchin said earlier this month when asked in a "Fox News Sunday" interview if he was mulling a third-party bid on a No Labels ticket.

Asked on Capitol Hill on Wednesday by Fox News if talk of a possible presidential run is just a lot of drama, Manchin answered, "No."

"The bottom line is everyone is trying to find this sense of the reasonable middle and both the Democrat and Republican Party have gone too extreme," the senator said. "If we can have a movement that brings people back showing there's a tremendous support for the sense of -- centrist middle, where you make common sense decisions where the country can be more comfortable than what they are now being forced to take the side to the extremes. That's all. It's a movement."

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No Labels Jacobson noted that Manchin is no stranger to her group.

"He was at our launch in 2010. He is the honorary co-chair with Sen. Susan Collins… and he is a terrific legislator," she told Fox News.

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman – another No Labels co-founder – emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview last month that Manchin, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland may be considered for the potential ticket.

Lieberman said they "are very active members of No Labels" and "would be naturals to consider" as he pointed toward their "strong records of bipartisanship and getting things done for the country and for their constituents."

With the filing deadline in West Virginia's Senate race not until January, Manchin appears to be in no rush to make any decisions..

"Everybody’s getting so worked up and scared to death, and we’re a year and a half away," the senator told Politico, as he pointed to the 2024 election.

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As a key vote in the Senate, Manchin has made plenty of headlines during Biden's presidency. He's grabbed the spotlight for sinking a handful of the president's nominees, and for slashing and reshaping the party's trillion-dollar spending package into what became known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

A source in Manchin's political orbit told Fox News that the attention surrounding the senator isn't affecting him.

"I don’t think it impacts him in any way. This is the same guy he’s been. It’s just the political landscape that’s changed. He’s not a different person. More people now are paying attention to him, but he’s always been this guy," the source said.

The operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, noted that in 2018, Manchin didn’t make his re-election decision until just before the filing period, adding, "He doesn’t think he’s in-cycle until next year."

"He’ll sit down with his family at some point. He’ll ask them what they think… then he makes his decision. That’s what he did last time. That’s what I assume he’ll do this time," the source predicted.

No Labels is aiming to get on the ballot in all 50 states in order to be in the position to possibly field a third-party ticket next year if President Biden and former President Donald Trump are the major party nominees in 2024.

The centrist group is in the process of forming a nominating committee to likely begin considering potential running mates for a 2024 ticket.

"My guess is that committee will begin to make lists of who we should consider if we decide to run a ticket," said Lieberman, a former senator from Connecticut who served as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 2000 election and ran unsuccessfully in 2004 for his party’s presidential nomination before winning a final election to the Senate in 2006 as an independent.

Jacobson said No Labels' mission is to "provide a choice for Americans if we come to 2024 and this country doesn’t want the choices that are served up, we’re getting [on] the ballot in all 50 states to offer Americans a choice if they want it. We call it an insurance policy."

Pointing to a bevy of national polling that indicates that most Americans don't desire a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, Jacobson stressed, "Right now, nobody wants the matchup of Trump/Biden. It’s very clear."

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Pushing back on criticism from plenty of Democrats that a No Labels presidential ticket would pave a path for victory for Trump in next year’s election, Jacobson said, "If it looks like for any reason this is going to spoil it, we step down."

Lieberman emphasized, "We're not about electing either President Trump or President Biden."

Fox News' Tyler Olson and Andrew Murray contributed to this report