Founding No Labels was founded on December 13, 2010, with the slogan "Not Left. Not Right. Forward". Organizers said the aim was to organize American voters against partisanship in politics and encourage a "common ground" approach to problem solving. The group's early efforts were viewed by some skeptics as an attempt to support a potential third party presidential campaign for
Michael Bloomberg in 2012, which he and No Labels denied. No Labels had relatively few
Republicans at its first conference in 2010, and criticism of the movement at the time came largely from the right.
Congress In January 2013, No Labels promoted an informal "Problem Solvers" caucus in
Congress for members of the
House of Representatives and the
Senate. The group initially began as 24
Democratic and Republican members of Congress who pledged to meet regularly. Members would identify their affiliation by wearing lapel pins, particularly during events such as the
2013 and
2015 State of the Union addresses. In 2017, the group helped to formally start the
Problem Solvers Caucus in the House of Representatives, a bipartisan group of approximately 60 congressional members. Before the
2019–2020 House term, No Labels released a plan to enhance bipartisan cooperation in Congress called
The Speaker Project. Several planks from this proposal were later included in an agreement that the Problem Solvers Caucus reached with
Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some praised the agreement as practical and necessary, while others claimed it might give House Republicans and/or corporate interests more power for that term. In 2021,
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) convened governors, senators and House members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus for a summit on finding bipartisan consensus in President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan. Following the summit, the group agreed that any infrastructure plan should focus first on “conventional infrastructure” before addressing a more expansive plan. The resulting "Building Bridges" blueprint for a bipartisan infrastructure deal was the first deal to be endorsed by Republicans and Democrats during that budget cycle. Left-wing outlets have criticized the organization for its pro-Israel stances including around cracking down on
campus protests.
2024 presidential ticket No Labels intended to offer its ballot line to a "unity ticket" in the
2024 presidential election, as an "insurance policy" in the event that "both major parties nominate presidential candidates that the vast majority of Americans don’t want". In November 2023, No Labels' chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, stated that "Based on the conditions as they are, we expect to be putting up a ticket early next year". By February 2024,
The New York Times described the efforts as having "foundered for months now" with the group's most high-profile potential candidates ruling out running on a No Labels ticket. Senator
Joe Manchin was among the most high-profile candidates sought by No Labels, but in mid-February he ruled out a 2024 presidential run, citing timing and to avoid being a spoiler. but reversed his statement a day later. Former Republican governors
Larry Hogan,
Jon Huntsman and
Nikki Haley, have all denied interest in a presidential run on the No Labels ticket. Manchin later said in September 2025 that he ruled out a run because No Labels wanted a Republican on their presidential ticket. No Labels and its supporters cited polling showing voters' disapproval of the presumptive 2024 Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. In August 2022, No Labels released a poll of voters in eight battleground states, finding 63% of voters open to a "moderate independent" presidential candidate; however,
Intelligencer columnist Ed Kilgore argues that once a specific candidate is chosen, polling numbers will drop dramatically. A poll from
Monmouth University on July 20, 2023, concluded that, if No Labels' chosen candidates were more popular with conservatives, it was not clear which major party would benefit more: "The presence of a third party in the race would siphon votes from both major party nominees, but it is not apparent it would play the role of a spoiler."
FiveThirtyEight'
s review of polling on July 13, 2023, predicted at that time that a bi-partisan ticket would likely benefit Trump. The effort was criticized by some Democrats, centrists, and Republicans, some people feared it could give former president Trump a second term. One report claimed that certain center-left members of No Labels'
Problem Solvers Caucus were "in open revolt"; co-founder
William Galston resigned in protest. A bipartisan group of former lawmakers launched a
super PAC called Citizens to Save Our Republic to focus on stopping No Labels' presidential ticket. Nonprofits
Third Way and
MoveOn also organized a campaign to get Democrats to disavow No Labels. Former New Jersey governor
Chris Christie has been critical of the organization, stating that No Labels does not "know who they’re going to hurt". Despite his expressed misgivings, in March 2024, Christie briefly considered making a No Labels run before ruling out the idea later that same month. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the effort "perilous to our democracy" citing how a moderately successful 2024 presidential run would throw the election to state congressional delegations which Republicans control. President Biden has stated that a No Labels candidacy would help his opponent. Biden's top aides have blessed efforts of allies to push financial and political support away from No Labels and other potential third party bids. Democrats have worked to spread negative information about potential third party candidates while lawyers have researched options to limit ballot access. Clancy stated in November 2023 that "we don’t think Trump should ever again be president", and promised that No Labels would not act as a
spoiler that would benefit Trump. Chairman
Joe Lieberman announced the candidate selection process, discussing the creation of the "Country Over Party Committee", a group of 12 individuals which would vet and select a presidential and vice presidential candidate. At that point, the decision would be voted on by delegates of the organization. By then, No Labels had ballot access in 16 states: Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah. Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Wyoming, Alabama, and Louisiana, bringing the total number of states with No Labels ballot access to 25 states. On April 4, 2024, the organization ended its effort to run a presidential ticket for the 2024 election.
The New York Times said that Lieberman's death on March 27 meant the organization had "little political firepower to recruit potential candidates".
Joe Cunningham, the national director for No Labels, said the group was "looking for a hero and a hero never emerged." In an interview with the
Chicago Sun-Times later that month, No Labels lawyer
Dan K. Webb stated that Christie had agreed in March to be a presidential candidate for the organization, but a Democratic vice-presidential nominee could not be found.
Legal disputes Arizona The
Democratic Party of Arizona sued unsuccessfully in 2023 to prevent No Labels from recognition as a political party, with the ability to place candidates on the state ballot. As of the fall of 2023, over 15,000 Arizona residents had chosen to register their party affiliation as No Labels, more than the margin of victory in the
2020 presidential election in Arizona. By April 2025, over 36,000 Arizonans had registered as No Labels voters, making it the state's third largest party. After No Labels attained recognition,
perennial candidate Richard Grayson opted to run under the No Labels banner.
U.S. District Court Judge
John Tuchi ruled in No Labels' favor. However, Grayson qualified to run as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in
Alaska's at-large congressional district with the "No Labels" ballot label. In the
2025 special election in Arizona's 7th Congressional District, the Secretary of State permitted Grayson to run as a write-in candidate in the July 15 No Labels Party primary. Just four days before that primary, on July 11, 2025, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court's 2024 opinion, saying that No Labels had no right to tell the Secretary of State to block anyone from filing for partisan office in the No Labels primary. Grayson won the primary with one write-in vote and advanced to the special general election. Also in July 2025, the new chair of the Arizona No Labels Party, former Phoenix Mayor
Paul Johnson, announced that after the Ninth Circuit ruling, the state party, with nearly 40,000 members, would open itself up to independent candidates up and down the ballot. “We believe that an open primary and more people participating is to our advantage, and we’re going to look for candidates and for people who believe that, who believe civility matters, decency matters, and focusing on the big issues matter,” Johnson said. The national No Labels organization issued a statement that said, "No Labels has no ongoing involvement with the Arizona state party. A group of local Arizonans is leading this effort without any affiliation with No Labels. They will change the state party’s name and be responsible for all aspects of the state party’s operations moving forward." They chose the name
Arizona Independent Party.
Durst lawsuit In January 2024, real estate heirs
Douglas Durst and his cousin, Jonathan, sued No Labels alleging a "bait and switch" scheme had been used to finance their third-party presidential campaign. The Durst family says it has donated to No Labels since 2016, when the group's messaging focused on bipartisan policy legislation, but contend that No Labels' presidential ambitions are a breach of their donor's trust. According to No Labels, the Dursts have not donated in several years.
Maine In May 2023, the
Secretary of State of Maine, Democrat
Shenna Bellows, sent No Labels a
cease and desist letter after accusing the organization of misleading voters into registering for the party. She claimed that No Labels misrepresented voter registrations as petitions, and informed each registrant how to change their party affiliation. No Labels argued that Bellows' actions could amount to
voter suppression and responded by stating that their organizers were instructed to ask voters to join their party, and noted that the form signed by voters is titled "Maine Voter Registration Application". While 798 people who received letters from Bellows unenrolled from No Labels, the group still had enough registered voters to qualify for the Maine ballot. In January 2024, the party was confirmed as a qualified political party giving them ballot access. No Labels has rejected a state-run primary in Maine.
Intimidation complaint In January 2024, No Labels filed a complaint with the
U.S. Department of Justice alleging an "illegal conspiracy to use intimidation, harassment and fear against representatives of No Labels, its donors and as potential candidates." The complaint claimed members of
Third Way and
The Lincoln Project actively threatened No Labels and prospective candidates to cease their presidential ambitions. Both Third Way and the Lincoln Project have denied the allegations. == Funding ==