The No Labels group said Thursday it will not field a presidential candidate in November after the bipartisan organization’s strategists failed to attract a high-profile centrist willing to tap into widespread discontent with President Biden and Donald Trump.

No Labels has always said we would only offer a ballot if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House, Nancy Jacobson, the group’s CEO, said in a statement to allies. No such candidates have emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to resign.

The unexpected announcement further strengthens the election matchup between the two unpopular major party candidates, Biden and Trump, leaving anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains the only prominent outsider still seeking the presidency. Kennedy said this week that he had collected enough signatures to qualify for the fall ballot

in

five states

including the swing states of Nevada and North Carolina

.

No Labels’ decision, which comes just days after the death of founder and chairman Joe Lieberman, caps months of discussions during which the group has raised tens of millions of dollars from a donor list it has kept secret. It was welcomed by relieved Democrats who had long feared a no label

‘

A ticket would break Biden’s coalition and help Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Who are the donors of No Labels? Democratic groups are filing complaints in an attempt to find out

The Wall Street Journal first reported No Labels’ decision.

Millions of Americans are relieved that No Labels has finally decided to do the right thing to keep Donald Trump out of the White House,” said MoveOn CEO Rahna Epting, an employee of No Labels.

‘

critic. “Now it’s time for Robert Kennedy Jr. to see the writing on the wall that no third party has a path forward to winning the presidency. We must come together to defeat the greatest threat to our democracy and our country: Donald Trump.

Kennedy’s campaign had no immediate response

although earlier this week he announced that he had qualified for the general election in five states, including the swing states of Nevada and North Carolina {moved states up a few beats until the first time this piece was mentioned-BH}

.

No Labels said it had qualified for the ballot in 21 states, but ultimately the centrist group was unable to convince top moderates from either party to embrace its movement.

No Labels delegates voted overwhelmingly in March to launch the process of creating a bipartisan presidential and vice-presidential ticket. But by then, No Labels had been publicly and privately rejected by many Democratic and Republican candidates.

Column: How RFK Jr. and other third-party candidates could influence the election and put Biden in real danger

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who last month suspended her campaign for the Republican Party nomination, had said she would not consider running on the No Labels ticket. Senator Joe Manchin

(

DW.Va.

),

barred from running and former governor. Larry Hogan

(

R-Md.

),

decided to run for the US Senate.

Last month, the former governor of New Jersey said. Chris Christie, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, said he would not run under the No Label banner

,

or.

The group had considered nominating a unity ticket, with a presidential candidate from one major party and a vice presidential candidate from the other, to appeal to voters unhappy with Biden and Trump.

We are deeply relieved that everyone has rejected their offer, forcing them to resign, says Matt Bennett of the centrist group Third Way, which is fighting the ambitions of No Labels 2024. While the threat of third-party spoilers remains, this uniquely damaging attack on President Biden and the Democrats from the center finally ends.

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Biden supporters worried that No Labels would draw votes away from the president in battleground states and were critical of how the group would not reveal its donors or much about its decision-making. No Labels never named all its delegates and most deliberations took place in secret.

Dan DuPraw, a 33-year-old sales executive in Philadelphia who would have been a delegate to a No Labels convention, said the decision was disappointing but wise. He trusts that the management of No Labels will make the right decision.

“I understand why they made this decision, and I think it’s the right thing to do at this time,” DuPraw said. But I’m so disappointed that we’re getting Trump and Biden again. I think it’s so terrible for our country.

DuPraw said he will now decide between Biden and Kennedy.

“I’m glad there are options other than the two main parties,” he said.

Peoples and Cooper write for the Associated Press. Cooper reported from Phoenix.