Chris Christie not ruling out No Labels bid

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is not ruling out running on a potential No Labels ticket in the 2024 presidential election.

The former GOP presidential candidate, who dropped his White House bid in January, seemingly left the door open to a third-party run during an interview released Thursday with former Obama adviser David Axelrod on his “The Axe Files” podcast.

Axelrod noted that Christie has come up as a potential No Labels candidate and asked, “is that something that you are considering?”

“You know, I think the way I would look at it is, I will do whatever I can to try to make sure that the country doesn’t go through what I think will be the misery of a second Trump term,” Christie said.

Christie, who ran as a vocal critic of former President Trump on the campaign trail, said there are obstacles he would need to cross before considering a third-party run. 

“There’s a lot between actually running yourself and nothing,” Christie said. “But I wouldn’t preclude anything at this point. I would just say that there are a number of hurdles to get over before I would actually consider running as a third-party.”

Democrats have feared that a third-party candidate would be a spoiler in the general election, giving Trump an additional edge in his likely showdown against President Biden in November. 

The former governor called No Labels “a fool’s errand” in July, when he was still in the Republican race.

“Well, what I’ve said in the past is that, I’d have to see a path for anybody, not just me, but I think anybody who would accept that would need to see a path to 270 electoral votes,” Christie said in early February. “If there was ever a time in our lifetime when a third-party candidate could make a difference, I think it’s now. The question, though, is what kind of difference.”

Some moderate lawmakers, like retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and current Senate GOP candidate Larry Hogan, have declined to be part of the No Labels ticket. Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) withdrew his name from consideration this week.

Last week, No Labels announced a committee of 12 people who will decide which candidates should appear on the group’s “unity ticket.”

The Hill has reached out to No Labels for comment.