Former Gov. Jesse Ventura told CNN he might run for president as a Libertarian.
Jesse Ventura on presidential run: 'I'm considering it'
Former Gov. Jesse Ventura said he might run for president as a third-party candidate.
By stribcondon
March 4, 2016 at 7:33PM
"I'm considering it, that's all," Ventura said Thursday night in the TV interview. "I'll decide in the next month. I've been invited to the Libertarian convention and I'll decide if I want to go in that direction."
That convention is in Orlando this May. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate in 2012, is running again. He got just under 1 percent of the vote nationwide four years ago.
Minnesotans elected Ventura, a former professional wrestler and actor who also served as a suburban mayor, to the office of governor in 1998. He served one term and did not run again.
Ventura's unlikely political career has been recently cited as a forerunner of sorts to the unexpectedly powerful White House bid of businessman and TV personality Donald Trump. At a rally in Anoka County this week, Republican Marco Rubio compared them in unflattering terms.
"Where the hell did Ronald Reagan come from?" Ventura said on CNN. "The entertainment industry, didn't he? So Rubio's a hypocrite."
Ventura has praised both Trump and Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders for taking on their respective party establishments.
The full CNN interview is here.
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