Democrats are reportedly panicked over third-party candidate strength as the 2024 presidential election gets closer, as some strategists see third-party candidates as the "single biggest threat."
The DNC is establishing an official committee, led by former Pete Buttigieg campaign staffer and Democratic operative Lis Smith, to counter the third-party threat, according to NBC News. They plan to counter third-party efforts through an "aggressive communications component," opposition research, and legal action.
"The single biggest threat that helps put Trump back in the White House is third-party candidates. It’s not Biden’s age. It’s not whether Trump gets convicted. It’s not any of that stuff," Joe Trippi, a veteran Democratic strategist, told the media outlet.
Matt Corridoni, another Buttigieg campaign staffer, plans to join the DNC's effort as well and told NBC News, "With so much on the line, we’re not taking anything for granted. We’re going to make sure voters are educated and we’re going to make sure all candidates are playing by the rules."
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"There is some Jill Stein hangover," Pat Dennis, the president of Democratic opposition research group American Bridge, said. "A lot of people, including me, regret that we didn’t go after her further."
"Trump needs to split the anti-Trump coalition. If we’re united, we win. If we’re not, he wins," Dennis added. "We see [Kennedy and No Labels] essentially as an arm of the Trump campaign and we intend to treat it as such."
Trippi, who co-founded a new Super Pac that plans to run ads in battleground states on third-party efforts, said "The Trump people know he needs strong third parties."
"The Biden campaign is going to have to spend a boatload of money educating people about the danger of a third-party vote," former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, a frequent guest on MSNBC, said. "Biden will have to spend money explaining there’s no vote for anyone else that’s not a vote for Trump."
Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson told NBC News that while he likes the idea of a third-party No Labels effort in a more traditional election, it was not the case for 2024. He said that if there was a third-party problem, Trump would win.
"I’m not forcing anybody to do anything, I’m just living in a reality where if it’s a three-party problem, a three-body-problem, Donald Trump is going to win," Wilson said.
