HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE STUDY
2024 Unity Ticket Project
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE STUDY
2024 Unity Ticket Project
Read the story of No Labels’ historic 2024 unity ticket project in this Harvard Business Review Case Study, authored by Senior Lecturer Robert F. White and Tom Quinn.
Drawing from interviews with senior No Labels leaders, this account offers an insider look at the entire effort, from the grassroots work to navigate complex state-specific ballot requirements to the high-stakes legal and logistical challenges imposed on us at every turn. Importantly, it details the ruthless and highly coordinated effort by a shadowy group of political elites to sabotage our work, tar the reputations of our leaders, and trample the rights of voters, all in the name of eliminating competition for their preferred candidate.
The case study places the 2024 effort in the context of No Labels’ 14-year history as a political innovator, from our founding in 2010 to our work to help establish the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in the U.S. House. It provides an illuminating picture of the obstacles facing upstart political movements in the United States, particularly those that dare to challenge the entrenched political class in Washington.
ABSTRACT
No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan
After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election – Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump – the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, aiming to facilitate a path for a moderate, “unity” candidate willing to run an independent campaign. They called it an “insurance policy.” The case tracks the challenges they faced – the byzantine election regulations, pressure and lawsuits from the major parties, and skepticism about their motives and strategy – ultimately leading to them ending the campaign after no credible unity candidates stepped forward.
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