Audio: No Labels leader says it's a 'flip of a coin' whether a Democrat or Republican would be the third party's 2024 presidential candidate

• Centrist group No Labels is preparing to possibly field a third-party candidate in 2024.
• But it remains unclear whether their candidate would be a Republican or a Democrat.
• In audio obtained by Insider, one top leader said it would be a "flip of a coin."

If No Labels were to promote a third-party presidential candidate in 2024, would that person be a Democrat or a Republican?

At a town hall event hosted by the centrist group in New Hampshire last week, former Republican Gov. Jon Hunstman of Utah — who's long been involved with the group's activities — was asked that very question.

"I don't know if it's ever going to happen, but we'll see when we get there," replied Huntsman, according to an audio recording of the interaction obtained by Insider. "It would be a very interesting experiment. Flip of a coin? How all major decisions are made."

The answer to that question has significant ramifications, both for the kind of voter the ticket would attract and for the policies the hypothetical candidate would enact if elected.

For now, the answer to that question remains undetermined.

It's a sign that No Labels' planning for next year's presidential election remains in its infancy, even as it seeks to earn a spot on 2024 ballots in states across the country.

"We haven't made any decision on whether we will offer our ballot to a ticket or who would be on it," said No Labels spokesman Ryan Clancy in a statement to Insider. "Our focus for the foreseeable future is getting ballot access and spurring conversation around our Common Sense policy booklet."

Publicly, the group has said that it is "preparing for the possibility" of naming a candidate but has not committed to doing so, and will decide to do so based on polling and how the 2024 general election shapes up.

The group's event in New Hampshire last week — featuring both Huntsman and conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — coincided with the release of the group's "Common Sense" manifesto, a 72-page document that outlines the contours of a centrist policy agenda for a hypothetical "Unity" candidate to take up.

It includes proposals for immigration reform — securing the border but also creating a pathway to citizenship for people brought to the US illegally by their parents — and an "all of the above" strategy on energy.

On the hot-button issue of abortion, the document argues for a "balance between protecting women's rights to control their own reproductive health and our society's responsibility to protect human life" but avoids arguing for any particular restrictions or national law.

Democrats have argued that a No Labels-backed ticket could not win a majority of Electoral College votes and that it would only hurt President Joe Biden's reelection chances and help ensure that a Republican — likely former President Donald Trump — would win in 2024.

Some Republican lawmakers agree.

"The No Labels effort would elect Donald Trump," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, a Trump critic, recently told The Hill.

The group has also faced calls to disclose its donors, which it's not required to do as a non-profit organization.

No Labels has argued that their donors have faced harassment and intimidation, including death threats, and that they won't "subject the thousands of patriotic and principled people who support us" to that treatment.

But historically, the group has been supported by some Republican donors, including those who've also contributed to Trump.