(NEW YORK) — No Labels may finally have a candidate in consideration for its third-party “unity ticket” in the 2024 presidential election.
Sources familiar with the group’s efforts to field a third-party ticket tell ABC News that No Labels representatives have had meetings with former Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan about running as the group’s presidential candidate.
Duncan wouldn’t comment on this report, but isn’t shutting down speculation.
On Friday, No Labels voted to move forward with the effort to field a bi-partisan challenge to the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
According to the sources, Duncan has meet with the No Labels leadership and this weekend will be meeting with Republican donors in a series of meetings set up by No Labels.
Duncan served as Georgia’s lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023. While he is a conservative Republican, he has been sharply critical of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Last month, Duncan wrote an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explaining why he would not support Trump for president. “So now the uncomfortable part: admitting to your neighbors the ends don’t justify the means any longer,” he wrote.
“Trump has become incapable of leading in a respectable or mature way. Until more of us are willing to acknowledge that hard truth, we will be on the outside looking in.”
No Labels Chief Strategist Ryan Clancy said, “Now that No Labels’ delegates have given the go ahead for us to accelerate our candidate search for a Unity ticket, voters will read plenty of speculation about who would be on it.”
He continued, “But No Labels has not yet chosen a ticket and any names floating around are being put out there by someone else.”
No Labels will announce a formal selection process next Thursday, March 14.
Several potential candidates such as Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Sen. Joe Manchin and Gov. Larry Hogan were once in consideration, but have since distanced themselves in recent weeks going their separate ways.
In response to previous names floated, Clancy said on ABC News Live, “The one thing I would tell people is for months there have been names floated out there associated with the No Labels ticket. The only problem is none of those names have been put out there by us. So if you’re reading any names today, or over the weekend, none of those names are out there because no labels, put them out there. Those names are out there because you know people like to do baseless speculation.”
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
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