Neoconservative political operative Bill Kristol announced Sunday that an independent candidate will enter the presidential race to challenge both Donald Trump and the Democratic Party nominee.
Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, has been trying for months to find a third-party challenger since his preferred candidates lost in the Republican primaries to Trump. Now, just weeks after meeting with Mitt Romney to talk about a third-party run, Kristol hinted Sunday that his plot is coming to fruition.
Kristol made his announcement on the same day that Gary Johnson locked up the Libertarian Party nomination for president. However, the Libertarian Party is not an “independent” ticket.
Kristol has floated names including Mitt Romney, Tom Cotton, and Marco Rubio as potential third-party spoilers to run on his “Latter-Day Republicans” ticket. Kristol recently met with Romney in Washington, D.C., to talk about the idea.
The Republican National Committee has already condemned Kristol’s third-party scheme as “helping to elect Hillary Clinton.”
Kristol’s attempt to get retired Marine Corps general James Mattis to run failed when Mattis turned him down.
Romney has consistently bashed Trump throughout this election cycle, even after Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee.