Judge Jim Gray announced plans for a longshot bid for President of the United States on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Gray, a former Orange County Superior Court and a fixture in Libertarian Party circles, is set to run for the Libertarian Party’s nomination.
In the Libertarian primary, Gray will face off against frontrunner Jacob Hornberger, the President of the Future of Freedom Foundation, and a number of fringe candidates including Arvin Vohra, Adam Kokesh, John McAfee, Dan Behrman and Vermin Supreme. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) is also said to be weighing joining the Libertarian Party to launch a presidential bid.
Many prominent libertarians, including Amash’s former ally Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), are backing Republican President Donald Trump, who has slashed regulations in recent months and is now campaigning for an end to the coronavirus lockdown.
The Libertarian Party hopes to tap into a dwindling demographic of ‘Never Trump’ centrist Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents to boost its support. Jim Gray, who was previously backing centrist former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (D-RI) until the latter dropped out of the Libertarian Party race, intends to take a “pragmatic” approach to win over these voters.
