Prof. ST Hsieh
Director, US-China Energy Industry Forum
626-376-7460
January 11, 2024
It is a nice try, we appreciated New Leaders ’24 stands up to defeat both Trump and Biden. Money isn’t everything, but the only thing in political campaigns.
Realistically, we can only wish Biden gets the message and leaves the reelection bid soon because Trump will NOT bug out. Trump is in the lead as his only hope not going to jail is to win a second term. On the other hand, Biden can retire with honor without risking a most likely lose to Trump.
Third party candidate is a lost cause and let us hope that a match between Trump vs any other Democrat candidate: It is easy to defeat Trump, but not Biden.
New Super PAC Aims to Raise $300 Million to Defeat Both Trump, Biden
Bill Allison and Gregory Korte
Wed, January 10, 2024 at 9:26 AM PST
(Bloomberg) — A new super political action committee aims to raise $300 million to support a candidate backed by No Labels, the group seeking to offer voters an alternative if President Joe Biden and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump face off again in the general election.
The group, called New Leaders ‘24, will take on many of the campaigning functions handled by political parties, according to Rob Stutzman, one of its advisers. The super PAC, the existence of which was first reported by the New York Times, plans to register with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.
No Labels has yet to name a candidate, though it aims to pick a centrist to lead the ticket. Among potential standard bearers are Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who’s not seeking reelection and has said he’s open to a presidential run. Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, both Republicans, are also involved with the group.
The entrance of a No Labels ticket in the race would be a blow to both Biden and Trump, siphoning off centrist voters and changing the contours of the race. In what is expected to be a close contest, the presence of third-party candidates could peel away support from the major parties and cause surprise upsets in some states.
The $300 million the group aims to raise is much more than the Biden or Trump campaigns reported having on hand in their most recent campaign finance reports. But that sum is about one-third of what the Republican party raised in 2020 to support Trump.
Stutzman, who worked for former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as deputy chief of staff for communications, said the group expects that a No Labels ticket will appear on enough state ballots to win the election. While No Labels can help get a presidential ticket onto ballots next November, its nonprofit status precludes it from campaigning. New Leaders ‘24 will take on that role.
Another super PAC associated with the group, No Labels 2024, is raising money to fund a potential nominating convention. It had $1.4 million cash on hand at the end of June, its most recent FEC filings show.
No Labels has said it will only run a candidate if Trump and Biden end up in a rematch of their 2020 contest.
“We’ll be watching Iowa and New Hampshire with great interest,” Stutzman said.
Kathleen Shanahan, who served as chief of staff to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, will serve as New Leader’s chief executive officer, and fundraising will be one of her primary focuses. The super PAC has commitments of $2 million. “It’s a mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents,” Stutzman said of the donors so far.