WASHINGTON — The centrist organization No Labels became a flash point during this year’s election when it floated the idea of a third-party ticket as an alternative to Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
That campaign never materialized, but the attention prompted support and criticism for a group that has been pushing for bipartisan solutions in Washington since 2010. Chief strategist Ryan Clancy says the group’s focus now is on figuring out the role No Labels will play as Trump returns to the White House.
“We were very focused on what comes after and knowing that, no matter what happened in the election, you were going to have a situation where half the country is going to be not happy,” he said. “We’re still going to be divided.”
No Labels recently held a first-of-its-kind gathering in Washington featuring dozens of members of Congress from both parties discussing ways to work together to pass laws and make the federal government work better for Americans.
Former Georgia Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Democrat who stressed centrism during her one term in office, spoke about how No Labels provided her with political cover, and about the support she and other lawmakers got from the group for their votes in the name of bipartisanship.
She faced heat after joining other moderates who pushed for a vote on infrastructure legislation to be taken before one on a Democratic priority: a massive social spending package. The infrastructure bill ultimately became law with bipartisan support; the social spending legislation did not.
Bourdeaux lost her seat to Rep. Lucy McBath in the 2022 Democratic primary, and her position on the social spending package was a common theme on the trail.
Clancy said he sees two roles for No Labels, the first of which is simply encouraging Republicans and Democrats to talk more to each other and find ways in which they can work together. The second is providing resources to lawmakers such as Bourdeaux who take stances that could affect their ability to fundraise or defeat opponents in a primary.
“It’s very hard to get people to do bipartisan things if there’s no political support network,” he said.
In the audience were No Labels supporters from across the nation, including Dunwoody’s Michael Kenig. He describes his politics as “fiercely nonpartisan” and has been active with No Labels since its inception.
Kenig, a retired construction company executive who occasionally hosts gatherings in metro Atlanta to bring together people from different political backgrounds, said he enjoyed hearing the perspective of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican from Alaska.
“She talked about how she’s able to focus and that she doesn’t really care whether people think she’s really a Republican anymore or not,” Kenig said. “She’s focused on solving problems and finding good ideas, and she doesn’t care where they come from.”
Kevin Abel, who lives in Sandy Springs and ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2018, was not thrilled about No Labels’ so-called “unity party” ticket idea during the 2024 campaign. At one point, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan was recruited to serve as the presidential nominee but pulled out before the campaign got off the ground.
Abel attended the gathering in Washington in hopes of learning more about what he does like about the group: its focus on bipartisanship.
“The organization has a lot of pull if they can get these people in the room to come out here on their busy days,” Abel said. “This organization has respect on (Capitol) Hill. This organization can accomplish things.”
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