No Labels ‘definitely’ interested in Haley on ticket, national director says

As Nikki Haley struggles in the Republican presidential primary, the national director for No Labels says the political organization would “definitely be interested in” having her run on its ticket.

In an appearance Sunday on “Fox & Friends,” No Labels’ Joe Cunningham said the centrist, bipartisan organization is “talking to a lot of spectacular people.”

“This has been a project to essentially give Americans another choice if they’re unhappy with the presumptive nominees, which, yeah, it appears it’s going to be Trump vs. Biden right now,” said Cunningham, a former South Carolina congressman. 

“We’re looking for great quality people and folks that have broad appeal to independents, Democrats, Republicans. And, yeah, I mean, Nikki Haley is somebody we would definitely be interested in.”

Haley lost Saturday’s primary to former President Donald Trump in her home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor, picking up just three of the 50 delegates that were up for grabs.

Despite losing to Trump in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and finishing behind “none of these candidates” in a Nevada primary that did not include Trump, Haley remains in the race for the GOP nomination.

“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” she said Saturday. “I’m a woman of my word.”

Haley often cites polling that found most voters don’t want to see a Biden-Trump rematch. A Reuters survey last month found that 70% of respondents, including half of Democrats, think Biden should not seek reelection, while 56%, including about a third of Republicans, believe Trump should not run again.

The Haley campaign did not respond to an email from Spectrum News seeking comment Monday, but a spokesperson told The Hill: “Nikki has no interest in No Labels. She’s perfectly happy with the Republican label.”

Cunningham said No Labels will not make a decision on a ticket before Super Tuesday, March 5. 

“After Super Tuesday, we’re going to look at who the presumptive nominees are,” he said. “And if the vast majority of Americans are unhappy with those and we feel like we can put forward a ticket or offer our outline to two candidates who can win, then we’re going to offer that outline,” he said.

Cunningham said No Labels has secured ballot access in 16 states and has “a pathway” to appear on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

He had a message for voters who may be skeptical of a third-party candidate, noting that in all but two states, a candidate needs only a plurality of the votes to win all that state’s delegates. 

“In a competitive three-way race, a candidate can win all electoral votes with as little as 34, 35% of the vote,” he said. “You don’t have to get over 50%.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., believed to have been under consideration for the No Labels ticket, said he would not run for president.

In an interview with CNN on Monday morning, he said he thinks Haley is “attractive for a third party.”

“She’s trying to find that middle … ,” he said. “A lot of people in America believe that we want to see our leader to be center, centrist, if you will. They can take a center left or center right. They can’t take an extreme. If extreme is being pushed on them, they’ll be looking somewhere else.”