Evan McMullin, a long-shot independent candidate for president, will announce veteran media strategist Mindy Finn as his running mate, sources confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Thursday.
Finn, a former House Republican staffer and the current president of the conservative nonprofit Empowered Women, has been a prominent voice in the “Never Trump” movement and brings prior campaign experience with her to the independent ticket. Finn previously served as chief digital officer for the Republican National Committee and ran digital operations for former President George W. Bush and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Looking forward to a great future… pic.twitter.com/5i1EkvThym
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) October 6, 2016
“I’ve been part of the group opposing Donald Trump in the Republican Party really since he announced last summer and as he continued to alienate and vilify people in this country,” Finn told ABC News.
For her, choosing to run alongside McMullin was “an opportunity to walk the walk,” she added.
“This is how it should feel to participate in a democracy,” Finn said, noting that she’s been “incredibly impressed by the amount of traction” McMullin has gained since he announced his White House bid in August.
In most states, McMullin has been excluded from presidential polling or failed to reach at least 1 percent support. His campaign is banking on appealing to enough voters who remain dissatisfied with both major party candidates to block Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump from reaching 270 electoral votes and thus forcing the House of Representatives to choose the next commander in chief.
Making McMullin’s path to the presidency even tougher is a mistake his campaign made earlier this summer when they used the name of his friend, Nathan Johnson, as a placeholder in their applications to appear on several state ballots. Johnson’s name is now permanently on the ballot in nine states and cannot be swapped out to list Finn as McMullin’s running mate.
“The path is difficult, but not as unlikely as people think,” Rick Wilson, a senior adviser to McMullin, told ABC News. “This is all about giving Americans a sense they can vote for people they can be proud of and have a more affirmative version of leadership in this country.”
