LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman convened a Zoom call with 30 other like-minded donors this week to address a persistent fear among national Democrats: Third-party candidates who could undercut Joe Biden’s campaign.
In particular, the donors on the line were worried about No Labels, a group that said it has raised millions to gain access to the ballot in at least 10 states for a potential presidential candidate. Hoffman and Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist organization Third Way, argued during the meeting that not only is a third-party victory implausible but that independent candidates would inevitably hurt Biden, said one participant on the call, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly….
Those worries are shared within the Biden campaign. Among those charged with getting the president reelected, there’s a consensus that a third-party candidate would almost certainly hurt the Democrat in the race, according to four Biden advisers not authorized to speak publicly about internal campaign deliberations.
It’s not just No Labels that has gotten their attention. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is another potential spoiler for Biden — should he run as an independent, as anticipated — along with recently-minted independent candidate Cornel West.
“I think it’s exceedingly difficult for Trump to win a traditional campaign against Biden so, like 2016, the only path for his victory is with help from third parties and outside actors,” said John Della Volpe, who polled for the Biden campaign in 2020. “Right now, the group of potential Independent Party candidates are more likely, as a group, to hurt Biden than Trump.”
Among the perceived spoilers, West is seen as the most potent threat to the reelect because of his potential to tap into discontent among some Black voters unhappy with Biden’s ability to secure new voting rights legislation or broad student debt relief, according to several Biden aides granted anonymity to speak about the discussions. Aides also fear it would not take much for West to sway some young voters and voters of color in key cities such as Atlanta, Philadelphia or Milwaukee.