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No Labels Leaks & Manchin ’24 Dreams

Privately recorded audio from a recent No Labels call reveals a presidential-seeming Manchin, lots of messaging concerns, some strategic concerns, other concerns about concerns, and a wee bit of confusion about the political group facilitating the vox populi’s attempt to steer to the center.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
May 4, 2023

No Labels, the quixotic and billionaire-friendly third party group looking to field a centrist 2024 presidential candidate, is a source of great intrigue in town. Part of the curiosity, as I’ve previously reported, derives from their recent meetings with Dem-G.O.P. hybrids, such as Joe Manchin, Larry Hogan, and Susan Collins. Part of it comes from the organic curiosity and concern about whether there is room in American politics for a third party, and whether a modern day Ross Perot would just facilitate a plurality victory for Trump. And, sure, some people worry about the optics of guys like Steve Schwarzman and a group of enigmatic billionaires having an outsized role in selecting the leader of the free world.