Former 2024 presidential candidate Chris Christie (R) signaled to the political organization No Labels that he would run on a split-party ticket if the group could find a “unity candidate” to be his Democratic running mate, according to a new report.
Dan Webb — the lawyer responsible for the No Labels presidential candidate vetting process — said Christie “suddenly signaled late last month he would run if we secured him a Democrat as a running mate,” in an interview with The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed.
“The ticket came this/close to reality weeks ago,” Webb said in the interview.
No Labels ultimately was unable to find a Democratic running mate for Christie, according to the reporting. After months of speculation, No Labels announced recently it would not put forward a third-party ticket.
“We needed a Republican on top of the ticket to beat Trump! Then Chris [Christie] signaled he was ready to run with ONE condition,” Webb said, according to the Sun-Times’s reporting. “Finding a Democrat to run as Christie’s ‘unity’ vice president.”
“But it didn’t work. We failed. We couldn’t do it. We needed a unity ticket, and no Democrat would run, because they were afraid of leaving the party and never going back! When that shut down, Chris pulled the plug. He felt he would not be able to capture the attention of the American public without a unity ticket.”
“Up to that point, Chris was in the game,” Webb said, “the only Republican who ran in the presidential primary who agreed to tell the truth and attack Trump.”
Christie, the former New Jersey governor, emerged as Trump’s chief antagonist in the GOP presidential race in 2024, using most of his public opportunities to attack the former president and warning of the danger of a Trump return to the White House.
Christie suspended his campaign in January, vowing to fight against Trump, saying, “I’m going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again, and that’s more important than my own personal ambition.”
“Anyone who is unwilling to say that he is unfit to be President of the United States is unfit themselves to be President of the United States,” he also said in his speech.
In late March, amid suspicion Christie might join a No Labels campaign, Christie officially shut the door to that prospect. He had earlier said he would only consider it if he saw a path to clinch 270 electoral votes.
Reached on Monday for a statement, a spokesperson for Christie referred The Hill to Christie’s statement from late March.
“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten to pursue a third party candidacy,” Christie said on the social platform X at the time. “I believe we need a country that once again feels like everyone has a stake in what we’re doing and leadership that strives to bring people together, instead of using anger to divide us.”
“While I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward,” he added.
The Hill reached out to No Labels for a response.