Third Way's Matt Bennett on the Dangers of A Third Party Candidate

In this week's episode, NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan speaks with Matt Bennett, the co-founder and Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at Third Way, a center-left think tank in Washington D.C. and a great partner of the NewDEAL. They talk about what we should take from last Tuesday's election results in states like Kentucky and Virginia, the recent New York Times polling on the 2024 presidential race, and the threat that third-party presidential candidates -- particularly via No Labels' efforts -- pose to our democracy. They also talk about Matt's path into public service, his involvement in an iconic political moment, and Third Way's efforts to champion winning ideas and uplift the center-left. Tune in to hear Matt's tips on what we should do as we head into 2024.

• [01:10] Introducing Matt Bennett and his work at Third Way. 

• [02:35] The historic tendency for the public to vote democratic when the stakes are at their highest. 

• [03:38] Political context for this conversation including the week of the New York Times poll.

• [04:24] Understanding that we are at the referendum stage of politics. 

• [05:25] The tendency for voters to use polls to complain.  

• [06:22] An overview of the No Labels decision to put forward a third-party representative. 

• [10:26] What it means to be a ‘dark money’ group and how No Labels occupies this space. 

• [13:17] Why No Labels has added gold to the Electoral Map. 

• [17:55] Predictions on who the candidate might be and why it won’t be Joe Manchin.

• [20:38] A timeline for the announcement of this candidate: 2024 at the latest. 

• [26:00] The possibility that Trump will no longer be a nominee.  

• [28:11] Matt’s journey to working in politics today. 

• [30:40] Dukakis in a Tank and Matt’s involvement in the activation.  

• [33:06] Third Way and its work in problem-solving politics.  

• [35:47] Advice for the politically active as we move into a new year.