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Democrats, leery of anything that could put former President Donald Trump back in the Oval Office next year, have largely thrown their support behind President Joe Biden's reelection bid.
But a push by the bipartisan political group No Labels to put forward a "unity ticket" in 2024 is already proving to be divisive among Democrats and ideological colleagues who might normally support more centrist candidates, according to The New York Times.
National Democrats are still scarred by third-party votes that cost them critical support in the 2000 and 2016 presidential races when their nominees were then-Vice President Al Gore and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, respectively.
And the possibility of more moderate political figures like Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, or former Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland being part of a No Labels ticket has made some Democrats shudder, in large part because a third presidential option would create an additional opening for Trump to retake the White House.
"If No Labels runs a Joe Manchin against Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think it will be a historic disaster," Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told The Times. "And I speak for just about every moderate Democrat and frankly most of my moderate Republican friends."
Individuals with ties to Manchin are doubtful that he might surface as a No Labels candidate, per The Times.
However, the West Virginian, who has recently ramped up his battles with the Biden administration over climate and energy policy, may still run for reelection to the Senate next year, a decision that he has said he'd make by the end of the year.
