Former Dallas Mayor discusses how 'No Labels' hopes to recruit presidential ticket
NORTH TEXAS — Third-party candidates could have a major impact on November's presidential race.
Former Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawlings, is now the National Convention Chair of 'No Labels'. A centrist organization and movement, but not a political party, that hopes to be on the ballot in Texas and 30 states in two months.
Rawlings told CBS News Texas that he's spoken with 800 delegates in Texas and nationally about the kind of candidates they want to be recruited.
"They'd probably prefer a Republican at the top of the ticket because they feel that's going to take more away from Trump. And that's where their focus is primarily. Second, they want somebody that is a uniter. I mentioned a uniter, somebody that is not about doing politics the old way, where everybody gets poked in the eye, but we bring people together with common sense solutions."
Rawlings said No Labels hopes to have a Democrat run as VP, and that the ticket will be set next month.
He said most people don't want a rematch of 2020 between Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump, even as both have won enough delegates to secure their party's nomination.
Back in May 2019 in Dallas, Rawlings became the first big city mayor to endorse Mr. Biden.
"At that moment, it was clear to me that now President Biden was the only person that could beat Donald Trump. And to me, that was my agenda, and I think he's done a good job in this. I think he did a good job in the State of the Union address. But I realize Jack, it's not about what I think. It's about what the public, and the public wants another answer."
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is running as an Independent, Jill Stein with the Green Party, and Cornel West, also an Independent, and some political analysts have said as a result, they expect the presidential race to be tighter.
In the Real Clear Politics average of national general election polls with all five candidates between February 15th and March 11th, Trump led with 41.1 percent.
The President is behind 2.7 percentage points with 38.4 percent.
Kennedy has 12.4 percent, West has 2.4 percent, and Stein with 1.8 percent.
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