Amash says running as a third-party candidate won’t tip election to Trump

Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) defended his decision to run as a third-party candidate in the November election, denying that he would play a “spoiler role” and tip the election toward President Trump.

“We don’t know how the additional candidate changes a race. It’s too impossible to figure out. There’s too many calculations involved,” Amash said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“The most important thing is we have a ballot. If you want to vote for someone, you vote for that person,” Amash added. 

“Congress needs to work for the people. The executive branch needs to execute the laws. And right now if you have Donald Trump or Joe Biden as President, those things are not going to happen.” – Libertarian presidential candidate Justin Amash on why he’s entered the race #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/9THJuWSDaC

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 3, 2020

Amash, a former Republican who left the party last year after supporting Trump’s impeachment, announced Tuesday he was launching an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. 

On Sunday, he told CNN’s Jake Tapper he is running to “win this election for the American people.” 

{mosads}“For too long we’ve had the same system, where these two parties go at each other and Washington is totally dysfunctional. That’s why I left the Republican Party,” Amash said. 

“We need someone who is going to come in as president, respect our Constitution, defend our rights and fix our representative system of government so people will actually feel represented at home,” he added. 

Amash said as president he would be open to “all the ideas that the legislature might present.”

“The job of the president is to execute the law. I want the legislative process to work. I want people in Congress to actually represent their constituents, and then I’ll make a decision about whether I want to sign a bill or not,” Amash said.