One of President Trump’s long shot Republican challengers has ruled out running as an independent in 2020.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld told The Hill he wouldn’t run against Trump if he doesn’t secure the Republican nomination.
“No, I would not run as an independent,” Weld said Thursday. “Depending on who the Democratic nominee was, I could either support the Democrat or conceivably the libertarian.”
Weld, 74, said that under no circumstances would he back Trump. Weld was former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson’s running mate on the Libertarian ticket in 2016 — the duo received 3.28% of the vote.
Weld, who was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, noted that he has known Democratic front-runner Joe Biden for years and said that Biden is in the best position to win over independent voters and Never Trump Republicans.
Weld said that if he does poorly in the New Hampshire primary, where he has focused his campaign, he would exit the race.
“If I’m at 1% in New Hampshire, sure [I’ll drop out]. But I’m not going to be at 1%,” Weld said, predicting that he could draw as much as 30% of the Republican vote in the state.
Weld is challenging Trump along with former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh.
[Read more: 2020 Republican Bill Weld on removing Trump from office: ‘It could be a valuable precedent’]
