Ex-Governor Hogan Minimizes Importance of No Labels Resignation

Larry Hogan, a two-time Maryland Republican governor and longtime Donald Trump critic, resigned last month from his leadership position in the third-party movement No Labels. The move comes as No Labels is pursuing ballot access across the country in a procedural effort to support a presidential ticket.

The timing of both events has fueled speculation that Hogan is planning a third-party White House run, something that he has repeatedly dismissed.

In his resignation letter Hogan wrote, “In stepping aside, it is my intent that new leaders who can devote themselves full-time to the effort will be able to take the helm to direct the No Labels political operation.”

In Hogan’s home state of Maryland, election officials confirmed that No Labels has obtained enough verified signatures to get the former governor on the ballot. In March 2023, Hogan declined to run for the GOP nomination saying he was more interested in “ensuring a future for the Republican Party” than in his own. He pivoted once again in the fall, telling Bloomberg he “wouldn’t shut the door to that opportunity.”

Another No Labels co-chair, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., told SirusXM that he’d like recent GOP dropout Chris Christie to consider running under the No Labels ticket. Lieberman called Christie “the kind of candidate No Labels is looking for” and added that “he could be a very strong candidate.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is signaling a run with No Labels and is scheduled to appear Friday in New Hampshire, just prior to the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary later this month.

Although the list of potential No Labels candidates as a nostalgia feel to it, Democrats are concerned such a move would only syphon votes away from Biden and not Trump. Despite winning consecutive terms in deep-blue Maryland, Hogan has isolated himself from the Republican base, like Christie, with his repeated attacks on Trump.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.