LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A Michigan congressman has joined a movement to create a third party as an alternative to voting Democrat or Republican.
If the current polling data is correct, a majority of U.S. voters do not want a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in 2024.
Given those sentiments, GOP Congressman Fred Upton thinks it’s time for a third party to challenge the typical two-party system.
The third party is called the “No Labels Group,” and the party already has a whopping $70 million in the bank.
According to Glengariff Group pollster Richard Czuba, it’s unclear if the effort to have a third party by 2024 will happen.
“We need to be very careful about that. We hear a lot of these kinds of efforts happening,” Czuba said. “You know, ‘Are they real?’ is the question.”
He concluded that it’s about how much money the party raises, as well as what candidates the party attracts.
The main challenge for the potential third party is qualifying for each state’s ballot, which will cost a lot of money.
Qualifying for the ballot will also require time and volunteers willing to do the leg work to get there.
Additionally, possible legal challenges will be posed by Democrats and the GOP to stop the effort.
“If it were easy to get on the ballot in 50 states, there’d be a whole lot of people on the ballot,” Czuba continued. “It’s not. This is really, really a difficult process.”
Congressman Upton said he will not be one of the candidates but there are contenders for the No Labels Group, including:
- U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.
- Former Gov. of Maryland Larry Hogan
- Former Democratic U.S. Sen. turned independent Kyrsten Sinema
A nominating convention for the No Labels Group is scheduled for Nov. 15. in Dallas.
