Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld is willing to run for vice president as former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson’s running mate on the Libertarian Party ticket this year.
Johnson and Weld were both elected as Republicans in the 1990s. Each of them served two terms. Each of them could probably be senators if they tried hard enough, although Weld at least attempted to run against John Kerry in 1996.
If the Libertarian Party nominates Johnson and Weld, no sure bet, they will have a ticket with more government experience than presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. They may also have nominees appealing to right-leaning voters repelled by Trump.
“We got together and shook on it,” Johnson told the Associated Press, referring to an agreement with Weld to be his running mate.
On the other hand, many #NeverTrump supporters are pro-life social conservatives. While Weld equivocated on partial-birth abortion and same-sex marriage while running for governor in New York in 2005, where the Conservative Party ballot line would have been helpful to his statewide prospects, he is to the left of Johnson on abortion.
In 1992, Weld said ninth-month abortions were “a price I would pay in order to have government stay out of the thicket.” He defended partial-birth abortion in his Senate race four years later.
Johnson opposes abortion after fetal viability and occasionally formed tactical alliances with pro-lifers as governor of New Mexico.
Weld was a big supporter of Mitt Romney in 2012.
There is no guarantee the two quirky ex-Republicans will be the Libertarian nominees in 2016. Johnson won more than 1 million votes as the nominee four years ago, but Ron Paul barely won the nomination in 1988 after a strong record as a libertarian Republican in Congress.
Famous anti-virus programmer John McAffee and pro-life Austin Petersen are also seeking the Libertarian presidential nomination.
