By STEVE BRAWNER
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson hopes No Labels fields a competitive independent presidential candidate this November. It just won’t be him.
“The short answer is that I want No Labels to have a strong candidate and I am not the right one,” Hutchinson wrote in a text Monday. “They need someone with a bigger profile and money. And I have a number of options in [the] private sector that are appealing.”
He said it is “premature” to elaborate on those options, so I asked him if he wanted to expand on why he, a lifelong Republican, has hopes for No Labels.
“Just like many Americans, I am not excited about a Trump candidacy and I will not endorse him,” he texted. “And I don’t support Biden. I ran for President because we needed an alternative beyond Trump and Biden and I still believe that is true.”
No Labels prior to last year was best known for its Problem Solvers Caucus. It’s composed of congressional Republicans and Democrats who pledge to work together. Needless to say, it has not exactly led to a golden age of bipartisanship.
Last year, No Labels decided that if the two parties nominated President Biden and former President Trump, it would be ready to offer another choice. Its “Unity” ticket would feature either a Republican or a Democratic presidential candidate and a vice presidential candidate from the other party. It has qualified for 16 state ballots so far, including Arkansas, and is working on others.
After Biden and Trump virtually clinched their parties’ nominations on Super Tuesday March 5, No Labels and its supporters decided to move forward. It will announce its formal candidate selection process March 14.
In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hutchinson said No Labels needs to find its candidates within about the next month.
Who might they be? Two of the most oft-mentioned names, former centrist Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland and centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, took themselves out of the running. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney has both the bigger profile and the money Hutchinson talked about. He’s said he’s out, too.
Romney is not ideal, anyway. Although he doesn’t look it, he’s 77. With two old men ages 81 and 77 heading the major party tickets, No Labels should offer fresher faces.
A name that came up this past week would serve that purpose – former Republican Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, age 48. ABC News reported that No Labels had been in contact with him.
The conservative Duncan has criticized Trump’s actions following the 2020 presidential election. He wrote recently in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that when it comes to Republicans supporting Trump, “The ends don’t justify the means any longer.”
Duncan is a youthful-looking former minor league baseball player. He would offer a direct contrast to Biden and Trump. So far, he’s just one potential name, and he would need a Democratic running mate.
Critics say independents can’t win, but they can play a “spoiler” role. That’s where they take enough votes from the most similar major party candidate to assure the election of the other one. Democrats have been especially fearful No Labels would hurt Biden.
No Labels has said it doesn’t want to be a spoiler and that it wouldn’t move forward if there were no path to victory. I believe that’s so. It especially doesn’t want to help elect Trump, so I expect its presidential candidate, if it has one, to be a Republican.
Could an independent win this year? If not now, when? Americans are often dissatisfied with their choices. But in this election, the two major party candidates are deeply flawed in ways that no amount of campaign spin can hide.
As Hutchinson told the CBC, “This year, the two major political parties are giving the electorate two candidates they don’t want, the Biden-Trump rematch. And so if there’s ever a time for a third party or independent run, it is now. … One thing we know for sure, Donald Trump is not going to change his ways, and Joe Biden is not going to get any younger.”
Hard to argue that.
CORRECTION: In my previous column, I mistakenly and incorrectly reported that 20,000 Republican primary voters skipped the 3rd Congressional District race between U.S. Rep. Steve Womack and state Sen. Clint Penzo. I have not been able to determine the actual number, but I’m confident it wasn’t enough to matter.
Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 16 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner
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