Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) on Monday announced he would not be launching a third-party presidential bid backed by the group No Labels, marking another setback for its ambitions this year.
“It was an honor to be approached, and I am grateful to all those who are engaged in good-faith efforts to offer Americans a better choice than the Trump vs. Biden re-match,” Duncan said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“In addition to my private sector career and earning a living for my family of five, I am focused on healing and improving the Republican Party with a GOP 2.0 so we can elect more common-sense conservative candidates in the future,” he added.
No Labels sought to recruit Duncan to serve on a “unity” presidential ticket as an alternative to the 2020 rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The Georgia Republican has been harshly critical of Trump’s lies about the 2020 election and his unprecedented efforts to overturn his loss to Biden, including in Duncan’s home state. Last year, he slammed Trump’s request to “find” the thousands of votes needed to overturn the election results as “dangerous and pathetic.”
“I think Republicans, like many other people in Donald Trump’s past, are going to regret ever being associated with him,” Duncan said on CNN at the time.
Members of No Labels voted earlier this month to field a presidential candidate, but they’ve had trouble finding a top-tier recruit so far. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley (R) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have all turned the political party down.
In an interview Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), another critic of Trump, also said he wasn’t interested in teaming up with No Labels.
“Right now, neither candidate is actually offering serious solutions ... neither candidate is offering something which has a snowball’s chance of passing Congress,” he said.
Polls suggest many Americans don’t have favorable views of Biden or Trump, a dynamic that No Labels hopes will produce a viable third choice in November.
But the group has come under fire from Democrats for being unwilling to disclose the identities of its donors, fueling speculation that it is largely backed by wealthy Republicans. Biden’s supporters also worry it will pull votes away from the president and help make Trump president again.