PHOENIX (AP) – The Arizona Democratic Party is seeking to force the fledgling political party No Labels to disclose its donors or lose its status as a political party, an escalation of efforts by Democrats to block a group they worry it is pushing. Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House.
Arizona Democrats filed a complaint Thursday with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who angered some in his party earlier this year when he formally recognized No Labels as a state political party. The complaint asks Fontes to suspend the nascent party until it reveals its donors.
No Labels says it is seeking ballot access in many states and will present a bipartisan “unity bit” for president “if both parties select presidential candidates without divisive reasoning.” The party has also secured access to the polls in Alaska, Colorado and Oregon.
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Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans fear that a No Labels candidate could not win, but would tip the scales in favor of Trump or a Trump-like Republican. Arizona is a crucial battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020 by less than half a percentage point. Biden won two other states by less than a percentage point.
The group plans to release an agenda for a possible 2024 presidential ticket next week in New Hampshire with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican. The duo, who have both carved out centrist positions within their parties, are a potential White House ticket for the party.
No Labels officials say their own research suggests they get equal support from both major parties and won’t run a ticket unless they believe it has a viable path to victory.
“No Labels has followed all laws, but the Arizona Democratic Party continues its hypocritical crusade to suppress competition and voter choice,” Benjamin Chavis Jr., national co-chair of No Labels, said in a statement. “As an American and a lifelong Democrat, I am outraged.”
A spokesman for Fontes declined to comment.
Roy Herrera, an attorney for the Arizona Democratic Party, argues in the complaint that No Labels should have registered with the secretary of state as a political action committee, but failed to do so during the nearly one-year process year of organization of a political party. It also argues that the new party should be required to disclose the donors who paid for the collection of signatures to secure access to the ballot, or at least the expenses incurred since it was recognized as a party.
“No one should be exempt from the law, especially not an out-of-state dark money group,” Morgan Dick, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party, said in a statement. “Arizonians deserve better and voters deserve to know who is behind this shadowy organization and what potentially nefarious agenda they are pushing.”
The Arizona Democratic Party has also filed a lawsuit to block No Labels’ recognition, arguing that there were deficiencies in the documentation the group submitted. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper appeared skeptical of the Democrats’ arguments during a hearing Tuesday, but did not say which way she would rule.
David Rosenbaum, a lawyer for No Labels, argued in court that the party is not required to disclose its donors to the state unless it nominates candidates for state office, which it does not plan to do. In a letter to the secretary of state’s office last month, he argued that No Labels is only subject to federal campaign finance regulations and has done nothing to trigger state registration or reporting requirements.
Herrera responded that No Labels cannot avoid statewide campaign finance reports by stating that it will only run candidates for president and vice president.
“Even if it has no state candidates, No Labels is not entitled to special treatment under the law,” he wrote in his complaint.
About 7,000 voters in the state’s two largest counties, representing 75 percent of all voters in the state, have registered with the Tagless Party since it was recognized in March. Statewide figures are compiled quarterly and were not yet available.
No Labels is one of four recognized political parties in Arizona, joining the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties. The state stopped recognizing the Green Party after the 2018 election, when it failed to secure at least 5% of the vote in the gubernatorial election and did not collect enough signatures to maintain its status.
