Libertarian ticket: Romney weighing an endorsement

Mitt Romney may make a late endorsement in the presidential race — but not for the Republican nominee.

{mosads}Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson said he’s been in discussions with the 2012 GOP nominee and is hopeful of an endorsement. 

“I think he’s considering the possibility of doing this,” Johnson said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Thursday. “Actually endorsing the two of us,” he said, referring to his running mate, Bill Weld. 

Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts, like Romney, said that once the ticket reaches 15 percent support in national polling, the case for an endorsement would be “overwhelming.” 

“He’s thinking about it, Wolf,” Weld said.

Weld added he’s also hopeful that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ended his own Republican presidential campaign earlier this year and has refused to back Donald Trump, the GOP’s official nominee, will also endorse the pair.

“We’re very hopeful that Jeb Bush might see his way clear to supporting the ticket,” Weld said. 

Both Bush and Romney have said they won’t vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton or Trump in November.

And last month, Romney said he would either write in his wife’s name or vote for a third-party candidate — and he has praised Weld in the past.

“As I have expressed about Mr. Trump, I believe on the basis of temperament and character that those are areas where I feel I simply can’t vote for [Trump],” Romney said. “I will either write in my wife’s name, who will be an ideal president, or I will write in the name of a third-party candidate.” 

A Romney endorsement could be big for the libertarian ticket in Utah, where the large Mormon population tends not to favor Trump. 

Trump finished last in the state’s primary, getting 14 percent of the vote. 

Polling in Utah is scarce, but an internal poll conducted for Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) last month showed Trump at 29 percent support in the state, with Clinton at 27 percent support and Johnson at 26 percent. 

Any presidential candidate must reach at least 15 percent support in five national polls to participate in presidential debates. 

A RealClearPolitics polling average shows Johnson with 8.6 percent support nationally.