Republican Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor, told “Face the Nation” this weekend that he has “not closed the door” to seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2024 on a No Labels ticket.
“If I believe that we can actually win the race, we might have to try to pull off something that’s never been done,” Hogan said in an interview that aired Sunday.
No Labels is a political organization that promotes bipartisanship in government. In 2017, it helped organize the Problem Solvers caucuses in the House and Senate to foster bipartisan cooperation on policy issues.
The No Labels website states that it is preparing for the possibility of nominating a candidate, but will run only under the “proper environmental conditions.”
“I think we should only put together a ticket in the event that it’s Trump and Biden,” said Hogan, when asked about concern that a No Labels ticket could split the Democratic vote and provide former President Donald Trump with a win in 2024.
Hogan said that he is still working to get a “good” Republican nominee, who he believes would make a No Labels ticket unnecessary.
“It has to be a good ticket that can actually win,” Hogan said, in the event that No Labels put forward candidates. “Nobody’s trying to spoil anything. This is about actually receiving a majority of the votes.”
Hogan also said that in the event of a No Labels ticket, the organization would put out information about the group’s donors to comply with election law. The group currently refuses to disclose its donors, fueling speculation over its funding.
“They’re not a political party, they don’t have a candidacy they’re behind,” Hogan said. “If in fact that became a campaign, they obviously would have to follow all the same rules that all the rest of the campaigns do.”
When asked what the chances are that No Labels will put out a ticket, Hogan said “there’s a good likelihood.”
“I’m not sure sitting here today that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the two nominees of the major parties or whether this ever lifts off the ground,” Hogan said. “But if in fact, that’s the case, I do believe that this group has a chance to get access to the ballot in all 50 states and if they put together you know, a really great ticket, and ran a perfect campaign, that they would actually have a shot to be not just a spoiler, but to be in it to win it.”
Hogan served as Maryland governor for two terms, from 2015 through this past January. He told CBS News in March that he would not be seeking the Republican nomination for president. He has been critical of both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, telling CBS News in July that DeSantis’ presidential campaign is “one of the worst I’ve seen so far.”
