Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) said on Sunday that he's not considering a third-party 2024 bid, but suggested that there "may have to be" an additional candidate given voter's dissatisfaction with the top Democratic and GOP choices.
No Labels, a centrist party group working to gain access to ballots across all 50 states, has tried to open the door for a third-party candidate in several presidential elections. For the 2024 race specifically, the group hopes to provide alternatives to former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden for voters who don't want to see a repeat of 2020.
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When asked if he'd run on a No Labels ticket this cycle, Hogan told CNN's State of the Union, "It's not something that I'm considering or pursuing at all, but I totally understand the frustrations that lead to this kind of discussion. At this point in our country, 70% of the people in America do not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump to be president. And if they're going to be the nominees, which it appears that they are, you have choice A that no one wants and choice B that no one wants.
Hogan continued by saying that "there may have to be a—" before CNN anchor Dana Bash replied: "So, you don't want to be choice C?"
"I may have to be choice C," he responded.
Hogan made the comments while appearing on the show's political panel alongside Faiz Shakir, a longtime aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Shakir encouraged the former governor not to run under the No Labels affiliation, calling the organization a "corporate front group" that is "just interested in supporting people who want to keep a corrupt political system."
"Well, they seem to be worrying a lot of Democrats because they're taken seriously," Hogan replied.
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Hogan, a longtime Trump critic, declined to challenge him for the 2024 Republican nomination, saying in March that he was devoting his efforts to ensuring the former president would not be his party's nominee again. He has not, however, completely ruled out making a third-party bid.
"I have ruled out seeking the Republican nomination. And I haven't ruled [running as an independent] out,” Hogan told ABC News at the time. “But it's not something I'm really working toward or thinking about.”