Kyrsten Sinema Rules Out Third-Party Presidential Run in 2024

(Bloomberg) -- Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona ruled out a third-party presidential run on the No Labels ticket, the latest prominent centrist to do so.

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“I’m not running for president,” she said Thursday when asked in a Capitol hallway interview if she might reconsider her previous reluctance to run.

Sinema, who switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in 2022, noted she previously joked that she was “overqualified” to be president. “I’m slow to make a decision” she said, but added that once doing so, “Boom, I’m done.”

Sinema announced Tuesday she wouldn’t seek a second term in the Senate. She was trailing behind the likely Democratic and Republican nominees in third place in polls in her home state.

No Labels plans a virtual meeting with state delegates on Friday to discuss going forward with a presidential ticket. Earlier Thursday, the group indicated that Sinema wouldn’t be their presidential nominee.

“She has made clear that her time in electoral politics is over, and we thank her for her longstanding friendship to No Labels,” the group posted on X.

Earlier: Sinema Won’t Seek Senate Reelection, Reshaping Arizona Race

Former Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, No Labels founding chairman, said in January he would like the party to consider nominating then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. She said she wasn’t interested.

Lieberman was not available for comment Thursday, according to his office.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, also have been floated as potential presidential candidates for No Labels. Both have rejected the idea, and Hogan is running to replace one of his state’s senators, Ben Cardin, who’s retiring.

--With assistance from Billy House.

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